Office of Teaching Initiatives

Mentoring Requirement for Certification

"Mentored experience" refers to the guidance and professional support that experienced, certified educators provide to new educators in their first year of employment in a public school.

To receive Professional certification, classroom teachers and school building leaders must complete the mentoring requirement. The mentoring requirement must be verified by the superintendent of the employing school district through the TEACH Online System.

• Classroom Teachers: Teachers holding a Conditional Initial, Initial, Internship, Transitional B, or Transitional C certificate must be mentored in their first year of teaching or must have successfully completed two years of teaching experience prior to such teaching in the public schools. For teachers who hold more than one Initial classroom teaching certificate, only one mentored experience must be completed to fulfill the mentoring requirement for their Professional certificate(s).
  
  
• School Building Leader Certificate Holders:  Educators must participate in a mentored program in the first year of employment in the educational leadership service or must have successfully completed two years of educational leadership service prior to such public school service.
  

The Office of Teaching Initiatives will review mentoring that was completed during the life of the Initial certificate if the mentoring was not received in the first year.