Click a standard to view elements beneath it.
| Element | Developing | Proficient | Accomplished | Distinguished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard 1: Mentors support beginning teachers to demonstrate leadership. | ||||
| Trusting Relationship | Has awareness of the need to maintain a confidential mentor relationship with the beginning teacher and the importance of mentor language | Respects confidential nature of mentor/beginning teacher relationship. Utilizes collaborative facilitative language when supporting the beginning teacher | Honors confidential relationship. Provides coaching support tailored to meet the needs of the beginning teacher | Upholds confidential relationship. Focus of coaching emerges from on-going dialogue with beginning teacher and mutually agreed upon next steps. Is responsive to the immediate and long-term needs of the beginning teacher |
| Leadership | Provides beginning teacher with a list of opportunities for leadership | Models shared leadership, encourages beginning teacher engagement in leadership activities, and reflects with the beginning teacher | Supports the beginning teacher’s involvement in school leadership opportunities | Assists the beginning teacher to assume leadership roles at school and district levels. Provides on-going coaching and support of leadership development |
| Communication and Collaboration | Exhibits effective communication skills | Assists the beginning teacher in developing the skills that would enable him/her to communicate effectively within collaborative settings and to develop positive working relationships | Supports the beginning teacher to use effective communication skills in collaboration with colleagues to improve teaching and learning | Nurtures the self-efficacy of the beginning teacher and his/her responsibility to utilize effective communication skills in collaborative dialogue to improve school effectiveness |
| Best Practices | Brings knowledge about best practices into conversations with beginning teachers | Provides resources for the beginning teacher on best practices with a primary focus on student learning | Models best practices with a focus on student learning while working collaboratively with the beginning teacher | Uses observations and data collection to provide clarification for the beginning teacher in implementing best practices with a primary focus on student learning |
| Ethical Standards | Is aware of ethical and professional standards | Demonstrates ethical and professional behavior in interactions with beginning teachers and school administration | Initiates collaborative dialogue with the beginning teacher regarding ethical and professional behavior | Exemplifies ethical and professional behavior and serves as a role model within the school and district community |
| Advocacy for Beginning Teachers and Students | Identifies and assists in locating instructional resources for the beginning teacher | Advocates for improving working conditions for the beginning teacher and his/her students when needed | Advocates for initiatives to improve education for all students. Coaches the beginning teacher on advocacy methods. | Advocates for positive change in policies and practices affecting student learning. Utilizes working conditions data to ground advocacy efforts |
| Standard 2: Mentors support beginning teachers to establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students. | ||||
| Relationships with Students | Supports the beginning teacher to become aware of the importance of building strong relationships with students | Provides the beginning teacher with strategies for effective communication with students individually and in groups. Share methods of learning more about students’ individual backgrounds, strengths, and needs | Collaborates with the beginning teacher to assess the effectiveness of communications and interactions with students and reflect on his/her impact on relationship and instruction | Supports the beginning teacher to solicit and utilize on-going feedback from students regarding teacher/student communications and interactions. Facilitates the beginning teacher’s reflection on the role of building and maintaining relationships with students and effective outcomes for learning |
| Relationships with Families | Brings awareness to the beginning teacher of the importance of communication with parents/families. Shares resources such as telephone logs, classroom newsletter/website design, and phone/email protocols | Supports the beginning teacher development of a home-school communication plan that establishes regular use of tools that promote effective communication with parents/families | Parents collaborate with the beginning teacher in the planning and implementation of parent-family conferences/communications. Reflects on effectiveness of interactions and communications to meet both the beginning teacher’s needs and the parents/family’s needs | Facilitates the beginning teacher’s development of a variety of lessons on school-related activities that regularly include families in the on-going process of identifying and improving student achievement |
| Relationships at School and in Community | Assists the beginning teacher to become familiar with faculty/staff. Shares availability of community resources | Introduces school and community partners/resources to the beginning teacher. Communicates context and history | Assists the beginning teacher with development of activities that foster collaboration between the school and the community | Fosters collaborative activities for the beginning teacher that includes and embraces the cultural norms of the community |
| Honor and Respect for Diversity | Informs the beginning teacher of the demographical composition of the school and community | Raises an awareness of the beginning teacher’s perspective and cultural inclusiveness as evidenced in the classroom | Introduces the beginning teacher to culturally inclusive practices | Engages the beginning teacher proactively around issues of diversity. Demonstrates culturally inclusive practices and guides the beginning teacher in developing his/her own |
| Developing Classroom Environments that Optimize Learning | Demonstrates knowledge about classroom rules, procedures and consequences | Assists the beginning teacher in developing classroom management plan in order to create and maintain a respectful inviting classroom community | Observes and provides specific feedback on:
|
Facilitates the beginning teacher’s understandings of specific student behaviors and use of strategies to address student needs and maintain engagement in learning activities |
| Reaching Students of all Learning Needs | Raises awareness of the ways that students are identified based on special needs | Supports the beginning teacher to lessons that take into account individual needs of students and promote student success | Guides the beginning teacher’s understandings of diversity and appropriate instructional resources/practices, such as differentiated instruction | Facilitates reflective dialogue with the beginning teacher on:
|
| Standard 3: Mentors support beginning teachers to know the content they teach. | ||||
| Implementation of NCSCOS and 21st Century Goals | Demonstrates strong knowledge of NCSCOS for his/her own grade level/subject and is aware of the scope and sequence of the NCSCOS across grade levels/disciplines | Implements strategies in weekly conversations that demonstrate awareness and understanding of the NCSCOS. Facilitates designing lessons that link the NCSCOS with 21st Century skill development | Collaborates with the beginning teacher in on-going conversations on how to integrate 21st Century goals into the NCSCOS. Facilitates the beginning teacher’s active participation in professional learning communities | Facilitates the beginning teacher’s development of all strands of the NCSCOS and the scaffolding of the NCSCOS across grade levels/subjects. Utilizes weekly professional conversations and professional development to support the beginning teacher in reflecting upon the use of 21st century standards in the curriculum |
| Content and Curriculum | Provides NCSCOS for the beginning teacher. Is aware of the need to assist the beginning teacher in its use | Provides state and district curriculum resources and assists the beginning teacher in determining key concepts. Assists the beginning teacher in establishing appropriate pacing | Promotes networking by the beginning teacher within school and district to access a wide range of curriculum resources. Supports the beginning teacher in developing both short and long term curriculum plans | Supports the beginning teacher in designing lessons that show application of the content and demonstrate connections to life in the community |
| Standard 4: Mentors support beginning teachers to facilitate learning for their students. | ||||
| Instructional Practice | Informs and highlights for the beginning teacher the need for planning, implementing, and using assessments | Supports planning, implementation, and assessment efforts of the beginning teacher | Collaborates with the beginning teacher to improve instruction and learning based on assessments. Provides professional development in areas of need using the cycle of assistance: Preconference, Observe, Reflect | Facilitates the beginning teacher’s in depth analysis of student work and planning for differentiated instruction based on results. Provides on-going support and coaching for implementation |
| Professional Practice | Informs the beginning teacher of licensure requirements | Models and nurtures continual growth, professional ethics, norms of collaboration, equity and high expectations | Facilitates on-going conversation with groups of teachers on professional norms, continuing education and overall growth of students | Facilitates beginning teacher application of action research, case studies, and other resources such as book studies and community agents. Creates opportunities for the beginning teacher to talk with others about professional practice |
| Student Assessment | Brings awareness of achievement data sources to the beginning teacher. Exposes beginning teacher to school and district data. Ensures that the beginning teacher has the required assessments that accompany texts. | Models need for data to enhance teaching and improve student performance. Assists the beginning teacher in interpreting data gathered from informal and formal assessments and to apply results in planning and making adjustments in instructional delivery | Supports the beginning teacher in the development and use of tools to assess student work. Collaboratively plans differentiated instruction based upon results | Provides/leads professional development for beginning teachers on a range of assessment techniques and how to utilize the data to meet individual needs. Facilitates leadership of beginning teachers to inform colleagues of their learning regarding student assessment and designing responsive instruction |
| Standard 5: Mentors support beginning teachers to reflect on their practices. | ||||
| Allocation and Use of Time with Beginning Teachers | Is aware of importance of meeting the beginning teacher and learning about his/her individual needs. Initiates introductions and offers availability for support | Supports the beginning teacher to attend a program orientation within first two weeks of employment. Meets with the beginning teacher at least twice monthly. Focuses coaching efforts on meeting individual needs | Meets with the beginning teacher prior to their start of the school year to support classroom planning/ preparation. Clarifies program information as needed. Regularly meets (face to face, virtually or through other medium that best meet the needs of beginning teachers) with the beginning teacher weekly and honors start and end times. Makes conscientious effort to use coaching skills and time effectively to meet individual needs | Meets with the beginning teacher prior to the start of the school year and meets at least twice per week. Provides the beginning teacher with additional ways to communicate and get support between scheduled meetings. Is dedicated to and skilled in providing quality coaching and targeted use of time to effectively meet individual needs |
| Reflective Practices | Relies on instructive approaches to tell the beginning teacher how to enhance instructional practice and student achievement | Utilizes instructive, collaborative and facilitative approaches to engage the beginning teacher to reflect and improve on practice | Blends instructive, collaborative and facilitative approaches to facilitate the beginning teacher’s use of reflection to self identify his/her instructional strengths and challenges and to engage in an on-going cycle of improvement | Orchestrates highly refined use of instructive, collaborative and facilitative approaches to enhance a beginning teacher’s ability to reflect on strengths and challenges. Nurtures the beginning teacher’s capacity to infuse reflection in his/her practice and to improve teaching and learning |
| Mentor Data Collection | Makes brief general observations of the beginning teacher’s classroom on multiple occasions to gather data on practice | Collaborates with the beginning teacher to conduct classroom observations and gathers general data on practice. Has brief reflective conversation with the beginning teacher regarding knowledge gained from the data | Observes the beginning teacher’s classroom regularly for both snapshot and formal visits to gather data. Collaborates with the beginning teacher to define a focus for data collection and to plan time to fully review the implications of the data | Utilizes a range of data collection tools to best capture information on the focus established by the beginning teacher. Facilitates conversation with the beginning teacher regarding the data collected and fosters reflection and next steps based on the data |