Beginning in Spring 2008 the Office of Teacher Quality Novice Teacher Induction Program will recognize 18 exceptional active Pathwise mentors with an award for Co-op Area Mentors of the Year and Arkansas Mentor of the Year for supporting the assigned Novice Teachers in ways that are above and beyond Induction Program guidelines.
Each Arkansas School District will nominate one outstanding Pathwise mentor assigned to a Novice Teacher for the 2007-2008 school year. The nomination process shall include completing and submitting the appropriate nomination form (attached). The form asks for:
- Demographic information and required signatures
- A narrative of the Mentor’s philosophy of teaching and how the Pathwise mentoring model fits into this philosophy.
- Evidence of providing the assigned Novice Teacher with support that is above and beyond what is required by Induction Program guidelines, and
- Two letters of support (one from the Novice Teacher, and one from the Mentor’s Principal or Project Director
Nomination forms are to be sent to the school district’s Co-op Teacher Center Coordinator for review.
Each Educational Service Cooperative and each of the three Pulaski County school districts will create a review committee comprised of at least one superintendent, one classroom teacher and one Human Resources person to select 3-5 candidates to be submitted to the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). A selection committee comprised of the Teacher Induction Program Advisor and two Pathwise consultants will determine the most deserving candidate for each Co-op and each of the three Pulaski County districts. The Teacher Induction Program Advisor and the Office of Teacher Quality Unit Coordinator will select the Arkansas Mentor of the Year from the list of Co-op winners. Mentors may not be a part of the nomination pool for three years after winning this award.
AWARDS
Each Educational Service Cooperative Mentor of the Year will receive a $500 stipend, a certificate, and expenses paid (registration, travel and lodging) to attend one of the two-day Mentoring-for-the-21st-Century conferences which are held several times a year across the south.
The Arkansas Mentor of the Year would receive a $1,000 stipend, a certificate, and the same workshop package.
BENEFITS and RESPONSIBILITIES
Trained mentors become better teachers by practicing the strategies they model. A community of quality mentors, in turn, creates quality novice teachers. Mentor of the Year winners will be expected to provide up to two days of professional development assistance related to Pathwise Trainer recalibration and Fall Update meetings for Project Directors. In this way, information will be shared on how quality mentoring is being made available to Novice Teachers in Arkansas. This will showcase both the Mentor of the Year as well as the quality of mentoring that is made available to some Novice teachers in the state. Each school district will be responsible for the cost of the Mentor’s absence from the classroom.
TIMELINE
The deadline for nomination forms to be sent to the Co-ops is March 15, 2008. The Co-ops’ semi-finalists’ nomination forms are due to Arkansasa Department of Education (ADE) by April 1, 2008. ADE will announce the winners by May 1, 2008.
Questions may be directed to Ms. Susanne Williams (susanne.williams@arkansas.gov, 501-683-4382), Teacher Induction Program Advisor, Office of Teacher Quality, 501 Woodlane, Suite 220-C, Little Rock, AR 72201.