Maine Mentor Trainers

Creating a Supportive Culture for All Teachers 
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about school culture. As you know, mentoring is just a small piece of an effective induction program. Effective induction involves creating a positive, healthy, supportive climate and culture for all teachers. In doing my thinking, I have read a lot of [...]

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Here is some basic assessment information that can be used as a conversation starter when mentoring around standard 8. It also can be used as a handout when you are mentor training. It provides a specific example of a mentoring conversation aligned to one of the Maine’s Initial Teacher Certification Standards. Please place this in your mentor trainer [...]

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Examples of Accommodations
Physical arrangement of the classroom

Provide preferential seating, e.g., seated near the front of the room and away from distractions if such a location helps him/her maintain better focus.
Stand near him/her when giving instructions.
Have the daily routine in writing where it’s easy to see
Include opportunities for physical activity in the schedule.

Instruction

Allow tape recording of [...]

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Differentiation Talking Points  
   1. Work Hard to Understand DisabilitiesTake advantage of professional development opportunities :Autism ,  ADD- Attention Deficit Disorder , ADHD- Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder, Fetal Alcohol and Drug Syndrome, ODD- Oppositional
Defiance Disorder,  Learning Disabilities , MR- Mental Retardation 
2. Build Relationships with Students 
3. Communicate with Parents- Early in the year and consistently throughout the year, make positive [...]

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As the school year gets rolling, your mentors will be busy providing a lot of guidance and support to our beginning educators. One standard from Maine’s Initial Teacher Certification Standards that our mentors ask about frequently is Standard Nine.
When I was facilitating a Mentors Training Mentors workshop in East Millinocket one of our mentor [...]

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The intent of Maine’s educator induction model is to provide a systematic structure of support for beginning educators. Educator induction programs can help new educators improve teaching practice, learn professional responsibilities and ultimately positively affect student learning. Mentoring is an essential element in an effective induction program! In addition to providing support for beginning teachers, [...]

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