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October 2026
Mentoring and Induction Newsletter
Octobe Updates
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Whether you’re curious about launching a new affinity group, looking to amplify an existing one, or just eager to connect and share ideas with peers—you belong here! Explore new possibilities and collaborate on building meaningful spaces together. In this virtual session, you will identify successes and challenges in creating and facilitating affinity groups, use a problem-of-practice protocol to unpack challenges, and form working groups to begin addressing them and determine meaningful next steps and support.
Register for the Affinity Group Design and Facilitation November 17, 2026, session from 3-4 p.m.
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We are excited to invite school and induction leaders to join MDE and the New Teacher Center (NTC) for the Advanced Institute for Coaching (AIC). Participants are encouraged to join this 1-day institute to strengthen their knowledge of coaching protocols and processes and deepen their understanding of how to support conversations around equity and instruction. Together, we’ll dive deep into the transformative Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) constructs and the Optimal Learning Environment (OLE) and explore actionable tools and protocols designed to foster equity and belonging in our coaching practices.
The training will be in person from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. on January 26, February 17, March 23, and April 27, 2027. The content will be the same for each session, so please select the date that works best for you. Once you submit this form, you will receive a calendar invite for the session. Please accept this invite to confirm your attendance. Space is limited, so please register by January 4, 2027.
Register for one of the following dates: January 26, February 17, March 23, or April 27, 2027.
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Join NTC, in partnership with Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), for a professional learning series designed for school and induction leaders seeking to elevate their mentor programs.
The 2026-27 professional development sessions support school and district leaders in strengthening teacher induction systems that promote educator growth, effectiveness, belonging, and retention. Through collaborative learning, data analysis, and communities of practice, participants will examine induction and mentoring practices, reflect on successes and challenges, and develop actionable plans aligned to the OLE and coaching cycle frameworks to help new teachers and school communities thrive.
Register for the school and district induction leader professional learning sessions.
For assistance with questions or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Chris Ramadan (chris.ramadan@state.mn.us), (651-582-8810) at least two weeks before the session.
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MDE and the Educator Workforce and Development Center are excited to offer a mentor professional development in the FIC.
FIC is a four-day training that centers on mentoring with an equity lens, exploring mentoring roles, using high-leverage tools to engage in mentoring cycles, and creating an optimal learning environment for students and teachers. Through the four-day training facilitated by the New Teacher Center (NTC), mentors will acquire the tools and strategies needed to foster inclusive learning environments and promote equitable outcomes for every learner.
Winter Session Training Dates: February 18 and 19 and April 15 and 16, 2027
Time: 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: MDE, 400 NE Stinson Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55413
Spring Session Training Dates June 14-17, 2027
Time: 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: MDE, 400 NE Stinson Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55413
This training is at no cost to participants.
To register for the sessions, contact Chris Ramadan (chris.ramadan@state.mn.us), (651-582-8810).
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Minnesota Region 10 Low Incidence Projects is beginning its third year of a regional special education mentoring initiative designed to strengthen induction, professional learning, and retention across Southeast Minnesota. The work grew from a clear regional need: more than 140 Tier 1 and Tier 2 educators were identified across the 57-district region, while districts continued to report shortages, professional isolation, and limited access to specialized mentoring and professional development. The initiative was designed to create a coordinated system of support that helps new special education teachers build confidence, develop effective practices, and remain connected to the profession.
A major focus of the first two years has been building resources that can be used consistently across districts while still allowing for local flexibility. Region 10 created a Google Site that serves as a mentoring resource hub, along with a Regional Mentoring Guidebook that provides a framework for mentors, mentees, administrators, and district leaders. These resources support the grant's original goal of developing a comprehensive toolkit, guides, templates, and professional learning materials that districts can adapt to their own needs. Regional Communities of Practice have further strengthened this work by creating opportunities for mentors, mentees, and administrators to share strategies, problem-solve together, and reduce professional isolation.
The mentoring work expanded this year with the development of a New Special Education Teacher Onboarding Guidebook and 36 aligned thirty-minute professional learning sessions with supporting activities. The sessions are designed to make ongoing learning manageable and practical, allowing mentors and new teachers to address important topics throughout the school year in short, focused segments. Together, the onboarding guidebook and sessions provide districts with a ready-to-use structure for supporting new educators while connecting mentoring conversations to the day-to-day responsibilities of special education practice.
As Region 10 enters Year 3, the emphasis is increasingly on sustainability and district capacity. The original grant plan called for districts to gradually assume greater responsibility for implementing and sustaining mentoring while continuing to benefit from regional Communities of Practice, shared resources, professional learning, and partnership opportunities. The Google Site, Regional Mentoring Guidebook, New Teacher Onboarding Guidebook, 36 professional learning sessions, and established regional mentoring network now provide an infrastructure that can continue beyond the grant period. Ongoing participant feedback, mentoring data, and retention information will continue to guide refinements so the program remains responsive to educators and supports a strong, sustainable special education workforce across Southeast Minnesota.
For more information, contact Micki Breithsprecher, mickibreitsprecher@gmail.com, Region 10 Mentoring Program Coordinator, or Christian Wernau, cwernau@zumbroed.org, Region 10 Low Incidence Facilitator.
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The Minnesota Induction and Mentoring Framework emphasizes mentoring that is purposeful, reflective, strengths-based, and connected to a new teacher’s daily practice. The following approaches can help mentors support new teachers in building confidence and skills, strengthening their teaching, and creating inclusive learning environments that foster student success:
- Use mentoring conversations to help new teachers reflect on their beliefs, assumptions, and cultural perspectives.
- Mentors can help new teachers examine how their beliefs, experiences, and cultural perspectives may influence their teaching and relationships with students.
- Build on each new teacher’s strengths, including their cultural knowledge, lived experiences, and high expectations for students.
- Effective mentors take a strength-based approach. They recognize what new teachers already know and can do and build from their experiences, knowledge, and strengths rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Help new teachers grow through reflection on their teaching practice.
- Mentors can help new teachers reflect on classroom experiences, think about their instructional choices, identify what is working, and determine next steps for improvement.
- Utilize student assessment information to help improve teaching and student learning.
- Mentors can help new teachers understand and use formative and summative assessment information to make instructional decisions and monitor student progress.
- Connect mentoring to the new teacher’s daily work and professional goals.
- Mentoring is most useful when it is connected to what teachers are doing in their classrooms and focused on meaningful professional goals. Job-embedded mentoring gives teachers opportunities to apply, reflect on, and improve their practice in their own setting.
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