Teacher mentor programs provide schools with increased teacher retention, increased student achievement and improved understanding of the teaching profession by the mentors. While it may be a time consuming and possibly costly endeavor to develop and implement a teacher mentor program, it is a win-win proposition for everyone involved.
Increase Teacher Retention
While teachers site various reasons for leaving the teaching profession, studies have shown that “mentoring is correlated with the retention of new teachers in the profession” [Induction, Mentoring and Teacher Retention: A Summary of the Research by Dr. Michael Strong, November, 2004]. Although there are many more factors that play into the retention of teachers, the information available seems to indicate that teacher mentor programs may in fact be a key factor in convincing teachers to remain in the teaching profession over five and even ten years.
Teacher mentorship can help improve the teaching environment and make the workload for new teachers more manageable, helping with two of the reasons teachers choose to leave the profession. Given this information, it is in the best interest of each school district to implement a comprehensive teacher mentor program simply to retain their teachers.
Improved Student Achievement
The benefits of teacher mentorship extend well beyond simple teacher retention. According to Stephen Fletcher, Michael Strong and Anthony Villar, in their study An Investigation of the Effects of Variations in Mentor-Based Induction on the Performance of Students in California, “new teacher support can have a positive effect on student achievement” [November 2006]. This fact can provide great incentive for schools to develop a mentor program.
The more support a teacher has from an experienced mentor, the more organized, well planned and well prepared she will be. Mentors can provide new teachers with materials and ideas that improve lesson plans. They can also provide a wealth of knowledge to improve the preparation and implementation of those lesson plans through meetings and observations.
Benefit to Teacher Mentors
Information provided by Liam Goldrick shows that 94% of teachers who were mentors, “deepened their understanding of teaching and learning” through their involvement in the mentoring process [power point presentation from the NTC Symposium, 2007, session 19B]. This indicates that mentoring benefits not only new teachers, but those teachers who are doing the mentoring as well. The result of this, once again, is increased student achievement.
Teacher mentors are a vital part of any successful school. With proper training, regular meetings, complementary observations and sufficient administrative support, new teachers, students and teacher mentors will all benefit from a mentorship program. As a result, the schools themselves, along with the school district, will benefit from the mentor programs as student achievement continues to rise.
Learn more information about teacher mentorship including how to find a teacher mentor.
Schools may also be interested in more information on why teachers quit and more ways to increase teacher retention.
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