Bobbie Jo Lewis, Ed.D.

Coordinator of Teacher Development

Bobbie.lewis@dese.mo.gov

"As an educator in Missouri since 2009, I have had the privilege of serving as a mentor to fellow teachers and now see the value of the MTDS Teacher Mentoring and Coaching Program through the lens of a school administrator. Over the years, I have watched this program evolve into an increasingly valuable resource for educators.

The program equips mentors with the knowledge, skills, and understanding necessary to support new teachers effectively. Through training and ongoing support, mentors develop confidence in their roles, strengthen communication skills, and learn how to build meaningful, trusting relationships. The MTDS Foundations of Mentoring program provides outstanding teachers with opportunities to lead fellow teachers with confidence.

The benefits for new teachers are immeasurable. With the many routes available toward teacher certification, teachers are entering the field with various levels of preparation. Entering the teaching profession, no matter the route, can be overwhelming, and having a trained mentor provides guidance, encouragement, and a trusted person to turn to when challenges arise. Effective mentoring helps new teachers navigate classroom management, instructional planning, student needs, and the many decisions they face each day. It provides a safe space to ask questions, reflect on experiences, learn from mistakes, and celebrate successes. Most importantly, it helps new teachers build confidence, develop effective teaching practices, and feel supported rather than isolated as they grow into their roles.

Through strategies such as active listening, reflective questioning, and coaching, mentors help new teachers think critically, solve problems, and become independent decision-makers. This support benefits not only individual teachers but also the students they serve.

Investing in trained mentors strengthens the culture of an entire building by fostering collaboration, professional growth, and shared responsibility for success. As a school administrator, I believe formal mentor training is an investment in our teachers, our schools, and our students. I encourage every administrator to embrace this program. The MTDS Foundations of Mentoring program does more than help new teachers navigate their first years; it empowers them to thrive, find fulfillment in their profession, and build lasting careers in education. Missouri students deserve great teachers, and the MTDS Foundations of Mentoring program is playing a huge part in the development of really great teachers."

Dr. Merideth Ussery

JH/HS Principal

Director of Special Education

Princeton R-5 School District

"Participating in the MTDS Foundations of Mentoring program has shown me just how crucial it is to support new teachers as they navigate the challenges of their first years. Early-career educators often feel overwhelmed and uncertain, but having a mentor helps relieve that stress. Offering encouragement benefits both of us, as it keeps me focused on the positive aspects of teaching and being an encouragment. Rather than just telling new teachers what to do, we work as a team to solve classroom challenges and look at student progress. This collaborative approach helps them quickly improve their classroom management and plan better lessons, keeping students engaged and moving forward. Most importantly, building this strong bond helps new teachers feel less isolated, boosting their daily confidence and keeping them excited about their future in education."

Cassie Lewis

9-12 Special Education

Polo High School

Polo R-7 School District

"I was extremely fortunate that my school district, the Hazelwood School District, allowed me to attend the Foundations of Coaching and Mentoring through the Missouri Teacher Development System (MTDS). It was one of the most meaningful, inspiring, and useful professional learning experiences I have participated in. Using the book Mentoring Matters as our foundation, we explored who we are as educators and mentors, while learning practical and impactful ways to support, encourage, and stand alongside our new teachers throughout the school year.  The course was filled with engaging and lively discussions, reflection, and collaboration. We explored specific ways to support teachers each month, such as establishing routines and procedures, parent-teacher conferences, and standardized testing. To make our learning explicit, together we practiced intentional questioning, 30-second feedback, exploratory language, goal setting, nonverbal cues, and the balance between attitude and aptitude. This four-day course, which I highly recommend to all mentors, was joyful, practical, enriching, and energizing. The facilitators are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, supportive, and flexible, creating an atmosphere where everyone feels valued, inspired, appreciated, and heard. I left the training feeling invigorated and ready to implement these practices with my mentees and with plans to build these concepts into professional development for new teachers next school year."

Stephanie Kosielski

International Teacher Mentor and Coach

Hazelwood School District

Supporting New Teachers As a Classroom Veteran

By Matt Kennedy

2026 Teacher of the Year Finalist 

Kirksville R-III

There is nothing that can fully prepare you for your first year in the classroom. Anyone who has ever taught remembers the intensity of that experience. The hurricane of acronyms that everyone but you seems to already know; the exhaustion of being “on” all day, every day; the realization that your loftiest plans for the class will be foiled by a lack of time and resources; the challenge of getting teenagers to do new things. Teaching is a career where the highs are high and the lows are low, and they might all happen in the same class.  It is an experience like no other. That first year teaches you a lot about who you are. 

I’ve spent the bulk of my career as a mentor for new teachers in my building, working with preservice teachers in the education program at Truman State University, and occasionally helping support new social studies teachers in neighboring rural districts where they are a department of one and just need someone to bounce ideas off of. I find so much joy in collaborating with and supporting new teachers. I find these relationships to be incredibly valuable. Being a mentor elevates my own teaching by forcing me to be more deeply reflective and refine my own philosophies and practices. On a larger level, I believe that supporting my community of teachers is the civically responsible thing to do. 

Our public schools represent the best impulse of the nation’s founding principles. A belief that every child, regardless of background, identity, or value system, deserves access to education, and that healthy democracies require a well educated citizenry. We find ourselves at a moment in American history when communities feel fractured through a blend of partisan polarization, declining third spaces, and the atrophy of the muscles of pluralism and civil discourse.  Supporting my fellow teachers is doing my part to address some of those problems. In my years of supporting new teachers, I have come to keep two things in mind in my efforts which I believe can be beneficial to all of us trying to support our new colleagues. The first is that in our excitement to help and our desire to be supportive, we can sometimes be overwhelming. Those first few years in the classroom are a lot, and sometimes, a veteran teacher with a lot of resources and expertise, in an effort to be helpful, can become another area of overwhelm to the early teacher. It is important for us to remember that just like with our students, we need to give our new colleagues support and encouragement, but also room to experiment and develop their own classroom style. We should check in, not always with a goal in mind, but just to show our support. Offer to help staple as a chance to open some dialogue. We should normalize talking through challenges so that they can see beyond the polished facade. All of these approaches will help create a supportive environment, but one that new teachers can engage with on their terms.

Secondly, new teachers (and really all teachers) need a strong community of teachers. There is nothing more reassuring to a first year teacher than for them to hear that their more veteran colleagues still struggle with some of the same things that they are finding difficult and that at the end of the day, even decades of experience and effective strategies don’t yield a 100% success rate. They need a sounding board as they troubleshoot their challenges, brainstorm creative ideas for their classroom, and grapple with finding the right words to respond to the first email from an upset parent. So often, when things are challenging we hear the rugged individualist suggestions of remembering your “why” or to not forget self care, but those are hollow substitutes for a meaningful community of support from people who have been there and are in the trenches alongside us. This community can come from within the school district itself, from the regional consortiums of fellow teachers run by the RPDC, or involvement in professional organizations (in my own content area of social studies, this would be the Missouri Council of the Social Studies and The Missouri Council of History Education). 

I encourage all of you, regardless of whether you are an official mentor of an early career teacher or not, to take the time to help be part of that supportive community for your colleagues. It is rewarding, a chance to grow in your own practice, and, in my mind, part of your civic duty. 

Are you looking to strengthen your approach to instructional feedback? For mentors, instructional coaches, and administrators, effective feedback is one of the most powerful tools for supporting professional growth and improving student learning.  Amy Tepper and Patrick Flynn’s complementary books, Feedback to Feed Forward: 31 Strategies to Lead Learning and Learner-Focused Feedback: 19 Strategies to Observe for Impact, offer practical, research-informed strategies to improve teaching and student learning.

These complementary resources help educators move beyond simply observing instruction to gathering meaningful evidence, asking reflective questions, and identifying actionable next steps. Whether you're supporting a beginning teacher or coaching an experienced educator, these books offer tools to build trusting relationships, strengthen instructional practice, and keep student learning at the center of every feedback conversation.

These books offer valuable tools that turn feedback into opportunities for reflection and growth, ultimately enhancing student outcomes and experiences. 

Which book should you read first?

Feedback to Feed Forward establishes the foundation for effective feedback. Its 31 strategies help educators conduct meaningful observations, collect and analyze evidence, identify high-leverage instructional moves, and develop actionable next steps that support teacher growth.

Learner-Focused Feedback builds on that foundation with 19 strategies for observing instruction's impact on learners. It helps mentors, coaches, and administrators identify intended learning outcomes, recognize learning in action, gather meaningful evidence, and provide feedback that promotes reflection and instructional improvement.