Mentor Support Can Ease The Teacher Retention Crisis

POLICY PERSPECTIVE

Mentor support can ease the teacher retention crisis

By Melinda George

Categories: Advocacy/policy, Mentoring & induction

When I was a new teacher, I spent my day asking questions — from how to use the copier to how to reach a struggling student and everything in between. It was sometimes exhausting. I felt like I was the only one in my building who didn’t know how things worked. When my classroom door was shut, I felt cut off from the rest of the world. When I got a mentor, things changed. My mentor consistently stopped by to check on me and my students and ask how she could help. She offered to observe some of my classes and even, occasionally, to teach a lesson so that I could get some ideas. She was a lifeline I knew I could reach out to

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References

Schmidt, R.A. (2019). Evaluation of the New Teacher Center (NTC) i3 scale-up grant: Teacher practice impacts. SRI International

Norman Public Schools. (n.d.). Norman’s Title II professional learning investment cuts new teacher attrition. lf.wphlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/NormanDataAltsV2_10-6-19.pdf

Melinda George

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Melinda George a nationally recognized leader in education and nonprofit management. For eight years, she served as Learning Forward’s chief policy officer, serving on the Learning Forward leadership team and overseeing Learning Forward’s policy and advocacy work.