Tips for Mentors
January 2025
Happy New Year!
Dear Mentors,
We are thrilled to continue our journey with you into the new year. BEST deeply appreciates your dedication and the inspiration you provide to educators across Washington State. Your efforts make a significant impact every day! As we prepare to welcome everyone back to school, let’s reflect on a guiding quote from Marcy Yoshida that has been central to our program:
“What we do for new teachers, we do for their students. What we fail to do for new teachers, we fail to do for their students.” -Marcy Yoshida
Transitioning back after the holidays can be challenging. We hope you give yourself the grace to ease back into your routines. Although we are entering a new year, it is not a completely new start as we are still in midst of our ongoing school year. We encourage our educators to use this opportunity as a check-in point. Here's a strategy from Mentoring Matters you can use with your team and mentees.
Check-in Strategy: Got it/Need it
For mentee growth, encourage your mentee to use a table to reflect on their instructional skills and experiences. In one column, they can list what they feel they have mastered (“Got it”), and in the other, what they believe they need to work on to continue growing (“Need it”).
For mentees to help students connect their experience and learning outcomes, also use this tool to help your mentee plan their instructions. It can help students visualize their progress and identify next steps in learning as they transition back into the school routine after the holidays.
January Learning-Focused Conversation
How might you help your mentees see the connection between their practices and student learning outcomes?
We are excited to lean into more learning-focused conversations in the new year. This month, our Roundtable session invites you to help your mentee see the connection between their instruction and student learning outcomes as you set expectations and goals in the new year.
"Success isn’t solely about speed. It’s about momentum, which is the overlap of habits and improvement that leads to incremental growth over time." -John Spencer
“Snailed it” mindset
People tend to feel the urgency of setting resolutions in the new year. A mindset from our resources this month reminds us that success is about continuing momentum.
Continuing growth can mean to replicate a successful experience, to feel more comfortable trying something new, or to choose to see something that we couldn't see before.
Let's invite mentees to look at how they're showing up in their instructional practices and how they continue to try even when progress feels painfully slow.
To read more about this resource, click here: Embracing the New Year: Five Approaches to Goal-Setting and Growth in the Classroom by John Spencer
Does this resource resonate with your practice? Do you want to dig deeper with a group of brilliant minds?
- Sign up for our Roundtable in January to learn more here: BEST Mentor Roundtable
- In addition to Roundtable, BEST is resuming all events from January, please use the links on the left column to register for our events. We sincerely invite you to continue growing your practice as mentors with us!
Connecting to Mentor Standards:
Standard 4: CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT
a. Curricular Connections: I engage my mentee in
making connections among standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment as tools for equitable outcomes.
b. Best Practices: I help my mentee understand
and implement research-based best practices to
pursue equity in the classroom.
c. Frameworks and Standards: I use the district’s instructional framework and professional standards to
promote my mentee’s growth.
Use these tools and resources to support educator-student connections and facilitate growth:
Mentor Learning Opportunities in January and February
Consider attending your next learning experience with our BEST team! Our Mentor Faculty have prepared thoughtful learning experiences for you to grow your mentoring practice. Click this link to view full schedule.
Call for Mentor Faculty and Induction Coaches!
- Would you like to help support training of mentors in Washington State?
- Would you like to support ESA mentors to grow their mentoring practices in Washington State?
- Would you like to coach districts to enhance their comprehensive induction practices?
OSPI welcomes candidates to apply for contractor positions to be a part of BEST. OSPI will post the application process and information for the following positions:
- Mentor Faculty
- Mentor Faculty- ESA Specialist
- Induction Coach
Applicaitons will be accepted from January 13th to February 24th. Please check this link to see details after January 13.
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