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Syosset CSD Mentor Intern Proposal

SYOSSET CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
1997-98 MT-IP GRANT PROPOSAL

I. Initiation of Relationship between the Mentors and the Interns

Every effort is made to initiate the relationship between the mentor and his/her assigned intern (s) prior to the first day of school. 

However, in this school year, the relationship will begin as soon as the grant is approved and the program can reasonably begin.  This year, Mentor selection will take place in January in anticipation of the approval of this proposal.  However, in normal years, Mentor selection will take place in late May or early June so that pairings may be done during the summer, as eligible interns are hired and approved by the Board of Education.   At the earliest possible date after the pairing is made, the Mentor will be called by the Coordinator, and arrangements will be made for each Mentor to meet with his/her appointed intern to begin the program.  In future years, this first meeting will take place as part of the new teacher orientation program operated by the district.

An orientation workshop for the Mentor-/Intern program will be offered at the earliest possible date after we receive approval of this grant proposal.  Mentors and Interns will be required to attend, and their supervisors will be invited.  Our experience has been that the supervisors usually do attend.  The orientation will include an overview of the requirements for Permanent certification, the MT-IP mandate and the goals and roles of the program.  In addition, a schedule for, and discussion of, initial activities will be provided.

A checklist will be given to each Mentor/intern team listing activities for the first three weeks of the program. (See Appendix 1. Many of these items will need no attention because the program will commence well into the school year.  However, they will still be provided to make sure that the Intern has been fully oriented.) The checklist will be different for elementary and secondary teams.  In addition, Mentor and Intern teams will be instructed to review the Intern's educational background and to formulate a plan and timeline for further course work and In service training.  This plan and timeline is to be sent to the Coordinator according to the schedule provided at orientation.

Additionally, Mentor and Intern teams are each to set specific team goals for the internship.  These goals are to be specific as possible and will be held in confidence by the Coordinator to be used at the end of the internship as part of the self-evaluation process.  The Coordinator will meet with each team approximately one month after the program begins to review and refine these goals.

Special attention will be given to the development of the Mentor/Intern relationship during the first few weeks of the program.  During the orientation, the obligation for confidentiality will be explained, and it will be reinforced during the early workshops.  It will be particularly important to explain this obligation in the presence of supervisors so that everybody understands the issue in the same way.

For Mentors, the need for openness will be stressed in early training. (We will use previously trained Mentors as often as possible during this first year of reintroduction of the program.) We will be particularly concerned that the Mentor see himself or herself as a coach whose primary responsibility is to guide the Intern towards new experiences which will build his or her arsenal of teaching techniques.  Readings will be provided which explain the coaching process as a Mentoring tool, and the first mentor workshop will deal with methods of providing objective feedback following an observation.   An In service course will be offered through our T.R.A.C.T. Center to help prepare Mentors.  The course will be tuition-free to the participants and will be open to every member of Syosset's professional staff interested in being a Mentor as well as to those who have been selected to serve in this role during this school year.  It is our plan to phase in a requirement that prospective Mentors complete this course before being permitted to serve in this role.  This requirement will take effect after everyone has had a fair opportunity to take this training.

In the past, the Mentor/Intern Policy Board established the following guidelines for adjustments in Mentor/Intern pairings:

1. Either the Mentor or the Intern may request a change of pairing at any time.

2. Following such a request, the Coordinator will meet with both the Mentor and the Intern separately and/or together to attempt to resolve the problem.

3. If the problem can be resolved, on other action is taken.  However, if the Coordinator deems a change of pairing to be advisable, he or she, in consultation with the Policy Board and after taking advice from the appropriate administrators, will make a recommendation for a change of pairing to the Superintendent of Schools.  The Superintendent will then make a new pairing from the list of eligible mentors established by the Selection Committee.

4. In the remote possibility that no secondary Mentor has been approved by the Selection Committee, the Selection Committee will be called together to recommend a new eligible Mentor, and the process continues from that point.

II. Joint Planning

Joint planning will take place all year.   All decisions of the Policy Board will be incorporated into the formulation of any new grant proposals we make in the future, just as this proposal has grown out of what our pervious experience has taught us.  Each time the Policy Board makes a determination that a certain procedure will become a part of the program, that new procedure will be added to the grant proposal for the following year.  The composition of the Policy Board will facilitate the cooperative nature of this planning.  Members of Central Administration, principals, department chairs and teachers will participate on the Board.   Members of each group will be selected by the presidents of the various bargaining units in order to increase the likelihood that the program will receive the support of the entire educational community.  The Coordinator of the Program will be a teacher appointed by the President of the Syosset Teachers Association, subject to the approval of the Superintendent of Schools.

Under the direction of the Policy Board, a draft of the Grant will be written by the Coordinator.  The Draft will then be submitted to the Policy Board for its approval.  Any differences will be worked out at that time, and then the final draft will be submitted to the Superintendent and the Union President for their approval.

We believe that his procedure has satisfactorily provided cooperative management for the program in the past.


III. Release Time Requirements

A1. Release time configurations may differ on the elementary level from the secondary level.  Experience has shown us that the specific time configuration for each team should be determined by the building Principal in consultation with the Mentor, the Intern and the Replacement Teacher.  Therefore, release time is handled differently in different schools.  The most frequent pattern utilized in past years is to provide release time to both the Mentor and the Intern for one half day once a week.   Experience shows that an Elementary school's Title I tutors should be given serious consideration for selection as Replacement Teachers.  This makes scheduling easy and helps facilitate instructional continuity.  Release time will be provided equally throughout the year and will amount to 10% of instructional time for both the Mentor and Intern.

During our five previous years of experience with the Mentor/Intern Program, Mentors and Interns have each received 20% release time, except in two situations where scheduling difficulties made it possible to release Mentors for only 1 0% of their instructional time.  If the funding schedule continues to provide reimbursement of 10% of Mentors' salaries and benefits, we will continue to try to provide 20% as delineated above.   However, if the funding schedule should change, or if it is impossible to hire replacement time for the funds available, then 1 0% release time will be provided for Mentors.  This will most likely be effected by providing elementary Mentors with only one half day of release each week, and on the secondary level, by pairing the Mentor with two Interns where feasible.

a2. Replacement teachers will be hired as part of our normal hiring process rather than as per-diem substitute teachers when possible.  Each hirer in the district will be reminded that when he or she hires an eligible intern in future years, he or she also needs to hire someone to provide the release time, or, the department schedule must be rearranged to provide the required release time.  It is understood that no pair may participate in the program unless and until release time may be provided.  As this is impossible this year, given the late start.  We ill use per them substitutes as required

In future years, we will facilitate this process by selecting our eligible Mentors prior to the beginning of the normal hiring process and by communicating this information to all supervisors.

We will attempt to combine Replacement Teacher jobs whenever possible so that we will be able to hire Replacement Teachers at between .8 and 1.0 FTE.  In the past, this has improved the quality of the teachers we have been able to hire for this role. Teachers who have previously substituted in our district will be considered first when Replacement Teacher positions become available.  In the past, service as a Replacement Teacher has permitted individuals to "audition" for Permanent positions in the district.   This, too, will make it easier to hire excellent people.

On the elementary level, for the purpose of planning, a team concept has been developed in the past.  The team will include the Mentor, the Intern and the Replacement teacher.   Each member of the team participates in planning, including the Replacement Teacher.  Mentors will be cautioned, however, not to plan their intern's lessons, but rather to facilitate the Intern's own planning.

When the Replacement Teacher is an experienced instructor, caution will be taken to keep them from trying to "boss" the Interns.  An orientation program will be offered for Replacement Teachers to provide them with guidance on their appropriate roles in the program.

The Coordinator will meet with the elementary teams at an early date to discuss how well the team is functioning.  If there are problems with the integration of the Replacement Teacher within the team, the Coordinator will attempt to resolve the problem, usually with the help of the building Principal.

In future years, it may be necessary to phase in release time for certain of the elementary teams based on the need to develop classroom procedures during the early weeks of school.  In the past, we found it wise to be flexible on this point.  This year, the release time will begin as soon as the grant is approved and Replacement Teachers are in place.

On the secondary level, planning will take place similarly.  Mentors and Interns are responsible for directing the replacement teachers' lessons.  In addition, if the Replacement Teacher is inexperienced, the Mentor will work with the supervisor to offer needed assistance.

In future years, secondary teams will begin the program on the first day of school.   However, this year, the team will commence participation at a time determined by the exigencies of the hiring process.

IV. Setting Directions

a. Mentor and Intern teams will determine the needs of the intern in several ways:

The results of the needs assessment for new teachers as established by Brenda Stallion of Ohio University (which will be administered to Interns during orientation) will be distributed to all Mentor/Intern teams.  Although this information will include only the averages, and confidentiality of individuals will be rigorously maintained, the results will serve as a starting point for the teams to determine the individual needs of the Intern. (See Appendix 2 for this needs assessment form.)

A first task of each team will be to establish individual goals for the internship in consultation with the Coordinator.  These goals should include items relating to educational background, classroom management, question asking and pedagogy.  Concern should be shown for the intern's familiarity with such techniques as cooperative learning, alternative assessment, active listening and mastery learning.  The Mentor will be instructed and trained to model behavior for the intern in areas which are perceived by the Intern as weaknesses.  In addition, after the Mentor has had an opportunity to observe the Intern, weaknesses perceived by the Mentor are also to be modeled.   However, the Mentor will be trained not to offer criticism but rather only objective feedback following such observations.  Thus, the assessment of needs is ongoing following the development of initial goals.  In addition, a checklist, which includes many of the items we have found to be common needs of interns is provided to each Mentor/Intern team. (See Appendix 1.) Each Mentor/Intern team is expected to cover each of the items on their checklist early in the program and then to send the completed checklist to the Coordinator.
Mentors will visit Intern's classrooms only upon invitation.  If this invitation is not forthcoming, the Coordinator will attempt to ascertain the reasons, alert to the possibility that there may be a problem in the development of the Mentor/Intern relationship.  Before an observation takes place, the Mentor and Intern will jointly determine an aspect of the lesson to be observed.  For example, in order to investigate question asking skills, the Mentor might write down each of the questions asked during the lesson verbatim.  The aspect observed must be able to be recorded objectively, and may not be determined unilaterally by the Mentor.  Following the observation, the Mentor will provide the Intern with the agreed upon objective feedback which will be used for coaching purposes with every effort made to avoid overt criticism.   The Mentor will provide modeling experiences in his or her own classroom or arrange such modeling experiences in appropriate colleagues' classrooms.  The Mentor should also provide examples of other ways to handle the same situation or similar situations as those which occurred during observations without indicating that one is superior to the other.  The object of observations, therefore, will be to provide the Intern with a multiplicity of methods of delivering instruction to children.

b. Activities of Mentors and Interns will be substantially determined by the teams themselves.  Workshops for both Mentors and Interns will be provided by the program, and yet, their topics will be determined according to the expressed needs of the teams.   A checklist (see Appendix 1) will be provided to help the teams get started.   However, after this initial checklist has been completed, activities during contact time will be determined by the individual Mentor/Intern team.  The Coordinator will receive a weekly coded recapitulation from each team which will stipulate their use of release time. (See Appendix 3.) Based in these contact worksheets through the years, Mentors and Interns will utilize this time approximately as follows:

Activity Percentage of time

building familiarization .02
arrangement of classroom 1.6
assignment of homework 2.5
visiting other classrooms 3.1
report card grading 3.4
planning follow up lessons 3.4
questioning techniques 3.4
test grading 3.6
test making 3.9
district procedures 4.0
Intern observation of Mentor 5.2
Mentor observation of Intern 6.2
lesson execution 6.6
use of resources 6.8
other* 7.5
classroom discipline 7.8
professional growth 8.8
lesson planning 9.5
personal support 10.1

* "other" includes activities not listed on worksheet (parent conferencing, outdoor education, observation follow-up, discussion of field trips, etc.)

Additionally, the program will encourage Mentors and Interns to attend at least one regional conference together. these conferences may be sponsored by the appropriate New York State Council for their discipline or be specialty conferences for reading, math, cooperative learning, etc.  Release time will be provided for such conference attendance, and the teachers will be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses.   Selection of which conference to attend is at the discretion of each Mentor/Intern team, with the approval of the district and of the Coordinator (for budget purposes).

The Mentor will encourage the Intern to observe as many teachers as possible and will facilitate this by making contact with colleagues as required. Joint planning, especially at the beginning of the year, will be a high priority.  As the year progresses, however, the Intern will be weaned gradually so that, by the end of the year, the Mentor will be doing little more than discussing the plans before they are made and reviewing them quickly after they are written.

 

Classroom visitations and observations will be voluntary on the part of the Intern, but they will be encouraged strongly by the coordinator.
 

V. Training

a. Our T.R.A.C.T. Center is the In service arm of you staff development program.  It offers a full range of the NYSUT effective teaching courses as well as a variety of other courses of value to our Mentors and Interns.  As part of their training in district resources, the Mentors will be familiarized with the course offerings at our T.R.A.C.T. Center so that they will be able to recommend selections to their Interns as needs are demonstrated.  The most frequently recommended courses have been Project T.E.A.C.H., Learning Channels and Cooperative Learning.  Mentors will be encouraged to take such courses as well.  Peer coaching workshops will be offered to all Mentors.

b. Mentor training will be offered as an In service course by our T.R.A.C.T. Center.   This fifteen-hour course will be available to all members of our professional staff, tuition free.  The training will consist of an introductory session explaining the Mentor/Intern statute, mandate, Commissioner's regulations and local regulations.   It will also explain the rules and responsibilities of Mentors.

Session two will deal with district resources available to Mentors.  These include support personnel, the Instructional Materials Center (IMC), district administration, etc.   Session three will cover Active Listening, including skills in parent conferencing.   Session four will deal with non-evaluative techniques of observation and methods of modeling.  Session five will deal methods of establishing closure with the Intern in order to allow the Intern to prepare to cope without an assigned, supported Mentor.   These topics have proved to be of value to Mentors in the past.

At some future date, completion of this course will become a mandate for selection as a Mentor.  However, since only our experienced Mentors have completed this training, this requirement will not take effect until  each interested prospective Mentor has had a opportunity to complete the course.

Mentor training will commence as soon as the program is funded.  Therefore, previously trained Mentors will be given serious consideration for selection . Rapid training will be offered new Mentors this year.  The training will parallel the course delineated above.  The same content will be provided.

C. Intern training and other growth opportunities for Interns will be driven primarily by the needs of the Interns themselves.  In the 1989-90 school year, for example, the following workshops were offered:

Prior to the opening of school, during new teacher orientation, the Coordinator explained the basic program to the Interns, and the Interns had the opportunity to meet their Mentors for the first time.  Early in September, a program orientation was held at which Interns received further information concerning their roles.  Also in September, prior to open school night, a workshop on parent conferencing was offered.   In October, the Interns toured the Instructional Materials Center, including our District's Professional Library.  They were instructed how to make best use of this exceptional facility.  In November, Interns were trained in the use of the guidance folder, the school psychologist, school social worker and other support personnel in dealing with children at risk.  Also in November, our elementary Interns participated in a workshop on Cooperative Learning sponsored by the district on Superintendent's Conference Day.  A follow-up workshop for all Interns was held on this topic in January.  Interns attended a workshop on active listening skills in April.

 

In other years, a workshop on dealing with confrontation in the classroom was also offered.  The times and the needs of our Interns will determine this year's additions.  For example, the workshops offered may well include alternative assessment, writing across the curriculum and interdisciplinary lesson development.  The results of the needs assessment survey in Appendix 2 will most certainly be used to help establish the specific workshops.
 

VI. Selection of Mentors

a. Mentor selection will be handled by a Selection Committee comprised of at least 51 % teachers selected by the President of the Syosset Teachers Association.  The remainder will be made up of central administrators appointed by the Superintendent of Schools or her designee, principals selected by the President of the Principals Bargaining Unit, Chairs appointed by the President of the Chairpersons Bargaining Unit and Administrative Assistants appointed by the President of the Administrative Assistants Bargaining Unit.  Each unit president will be encouraged to appoint people who possess a broad knowledge of the faculty.  It is the responsibility of the principals on the committee to take recommendations from other principals, and a similar role will be played by chairs and teachers on the committee.  The Selection Committee will be chaired by the Coordinator.

Primary responsibility for determining that potential Mentors possess excellent mastery of Pedagogy skills is held by supervisors serving on the committee.  It will be the recommendations taken from Principals and Chairs which will prevent our selecting those who do not possess this trait.

Subject matter skills require input from colleagues who have worked with potential Mentors in departments or on grade levels.  Input will also be sought from supervisors.

Inter-personal relationships are easily recognized by colleagues as well as by supervisors.  If the potential Mentor is being selected for service in a school which is not represented on the Selection Committee, then input will be sought from both teachers and supervisors who know the staff of the school well.

The willingness of a potential Mentor to participate in the Program will be determined through personal contact by a member of the Selection Committee.  No one will be selected who is not a willing volunteer.

Additionally, the Selection Committee will be provided with information concerning the tenure status, years of experience and areas of certification for each potential Mentor.

In the past, we have found that some flexibility in the selection of Mentors is advisable.   Therefore, there are no hard and fast rules as to the selection of Mentors.   However, since one focus of our program is emotional support, personality has been sometimes judged to be more important than supremacy of Pedagogy skills.  In particular, the Selection Committees of the past have avoided choosing teachers who are "fixed in their ways" to serve as Mentors.

b. In future years, the selection process will begin with the Coordinator going to each school and explaining the qualifications and responsibilities of a Mentor to the staff.   The responsibilities will also be spelled out in print.  Every teacher present will be asked to sign a form indicating whether or not he or she would be interested in being considered for selection as a Mentor.  These forms will be used by the Coordinator to create a list of those volunteering to serve as Mentors and will be provided by the Coordinator to each member of the Selection Committee.  The Coordinator will append to this list information about each volunteer's tenure status, number of years of experience and certificates held.

This year, since time will be at a premium, the Selection Committee will operate as if each tenured teacher in the district has volunteered.  Information will be provided concerning each potential Mentor as he or she is brought up for consideration by the committee.  In addition, the names of those teachers who have previously served as Mentors will be available to the committee.

The Selection Committee will be charged with selecting the best three possible Mentors for each eligible Intern, in priority order, based on input from peers who know well those being considered.  Members of the committee will be encouraged to seek input in a fair and open manner.

 

Decisions of the Selection Committee will be by consensus.  Open and frank discussions, which will be held confidential, will help determine the best candidates.  A list of eligible Mentors will be submitted to the Superintendent at the earliest possible time, including recommended pairings.  In the event that the Superintendent rejects a pairing, the next potential Mentor will be recommended in priority order.  If the Superintendent rejects all recommended Mentors, the committee will have to be reconvened to make additional selections.   However, in five years of operation, this eventuality has not yet occurred.
 

VIl. Role of the Mentor

a. Confidentiality of Mentor/Intern interactions are protected in the following ways:

1. The Mentor will be forbidden to discuss the Intern with any supervisors without the express prior approval of the Intern.

2. Supervisors will be advised that no material relating to the Mentor/Intern program may be used for the purpose of evaluation other than the fact that the Mentor and/or the Intern was a participant.

3. Supervisors will be instructed not to expect responses from Mentors concerning their interns.

4. All communications to the Coordinator relating to Mentor/Intern interactions will be coded.

5. The Coordinator will be a classroom teacher.

6. All participants will be instructed to maintain complete confidentiality concerning Mentor/Intern interactions.  When assistance is required, they will be instructed to speak to the Coordinator or to a designated member of the Policy Board.

7. The district will forbid the use of confidential information from the Mentor/Intern program from being used in rehiring decisions.

Although it would be impossible to describe all of the activities of a Mentor, experience shows that the following activities will be common:

1 . The Mentor will participate in training activities and support sessions designated by the program.

2. The Mentor will meet regularly with his or her Intern to provide support and coaching.

3. The Mentor will report weekly (on a coded form) to stipulate the use of release time.

4. The Mentor will open his or her classroom for visitations by the Intern.

5. The Mentor will model techniques and behaviors for the
benefit of the Intern.

 

6. The Mentor, in conjunction with the Intern, will set goals for the internship.

7.The Mentor will review the intern's background and education with the Intern and makes recommendations for further study.
 

8. The Mentor will attend at least one conference with the Intern if feasible.

9. The Mentor will work frequently with the Intern (and Replacement Teacher when appropriate) in creating lesson plans, especially at the beginning of the internship.

10. The Mentor will help familiarize the Intern with the school's physical plan, staff, supportive services and other resources.

VIll. Role of the Principal

The Principal (and/or department Chair) will be a full partner in the Mentor/intern program in Syosset, seeing himself or herself as an integral part of the team.  As a supervisor, he or she will help protect the confidentiality of the Mentor/Intern relationship while working hand in hand with the program by making staff development goals clear to both the Mentor and the Intern.

The Principal will establish the schedule for release time in conjunction with the Mentor/Intern/Replacement teacher team.  In Syosset, the Principal has also traditionally shared a great deal of the responsibility for hiring the Replacement Teacher.

Informally, most of our supervisors have utilized the program to assist them when they had concerns about an Intern's teaching competencies.  This has been done through the Coordinator or through a member of the Policy Board.

Principals (and or department Chairs) will be invited to the orientation workshop for the Mentor/Intern program and will have a standing invitation to all training sessions.   Both Principals and Chairs will be represented on the Policy Board of the Mentor/Intern program.  They will also be represented on the Selection Committee.

The Syosset program firmly believes that an internship cannot succeed without the full, willing support of the district supervisors.  Principals and chairs who have participated in the program in the past uniformly assert its value and will serve as a resource to reassure supervisors who have not yet had the experience.

IX. Interns

a. The Syosset Mentor/intern program will make every attempt to service 100% of its eligible interns.  However, if this is not possible, the following priorities will exist for intern selection:

1. First priority will be given to those requiring an internship by mandate.

2. The Policy Board will examine the likelihood of obtaining Replacement Teachers and eliminate those for whom Replacement teachers are least likely to be obtained.

3. Priority will be given to an attempt to provide an internship for all members of a school or department or grade level if any members are to be served.

4. Teachers who have had some experience will be dropped before teachers who have had no experience.
Unfortunately, when such decisions have to be made, administrative convenience will have to be given high priority.

 

b1.  Interns will teach 80% of a normal teaching load at their assigned grade level or department.
 

2. Interns will meet regularly with their Mentors.

3. Interns will visit the classroom of their Mentors and the classrooms of other colleagues in the school, and when feasible, in other schools.

4. Interns will attend scheduled workshops and the orientation program.

5. Interns will work with their Mentors to set their personal goals for their internship.

6. Interns will plan an educational program which will assure them of meeting the requirements for Permanent certification and will enable them to fill gaps in their background and preparation.

7. Interns will report on a coded form weekly contacts with their Mentors and other program-related activities.

8. Interns will complete program evaluation and internship evaluation forms as required by the program and by the state.

9. Interns will complete a needs assessment form. (See Appendix 2).

X. Evaluation

a. Assessment of the Intern's progress will be handled as follows:

1. The Mentors and Interns will review their goals and report to the Coordinator as to how well they have been fulfilled.

2. Attitudinal surveys will be completed by both Mentors and Interns to determine their perception of the success of the internship.

3. Mentors and Interns will participate in an evaluation
workshop at the end of their internship during which they will be encouraged to make suggestions for improving the program.

4. Training workshops will be derived and developed out of the expressed needs of the Mentors and the Interns.

b. The Syosset Mentor/Intern program will be assessed continuously throughout the year by its Policy Board.

Problems with scheduling will be worked out in conjunction with appropriate supervisors as the need arises.  Constant feedback will be sought by the Policy Board in determining the effectiveness of the scheduling in an attempt to maintain continuity of instruction.

XI. Program Management

a. The Mentor/Intern program will be coordinated by Richard Lesse, a classroom teacher at the High School.  If funding permits, release time up to 33% will be provided to allow coordination to take place during school hours.  If funding does not allow this, then a stipend will be charged to the grant for the purpose of funding coordination.

Other members of the Policy Board will be:
Central Administrator
Principal
Department Chair
Teachers' Union Representative
An elementary teacher
A middle school teacher
high school teacher
former Intern
former Mentor

All decisions of the Policy Board will be made by consensus.

The Coordinator will work with the appropriate supervisors to work out release time for both Mentors and Interns.  Handouts, including the checklist for opening activities (see Appendix 1) which deals with building familiarization, have been and will be created by subcommittees of the Policy Board or are and will be located or created by the Coordinator.  They will have to be approved by the Policy Board before they will be used.

The Policy Board, responding to the expressed needs of Mentors and Interns, will set the training and workshop schedule for both Mentors and Interns.  The dates will be scheduled as soon as the program is funded.  Every attempt will be made to avoid conflicts with other district functions.

The Policy Board will meet once each month and minutes will be kept of the meetings.   These minutes will be shared with all Principals and with the Presidents of each of the Bargaining Units.

b. Activities will be documented by the Coordinator in order to determine the effectiveness of the Mentor/Intern pairings and the use of release time.  Where there is an appearance of insufficient or inappropriate use of release time, the coordinator will deal with the situation in a way that does not threaten the confidentiality of the participants.  For this purpose, a coded weekly worksheet has been created by a former Policy Board and will be completed by each Mentor and each Intern every week and sent to the Coordinator.  The Coordinator will keep a monthly tally, including a list of activities and the amount of time spent on these activities.  In coded form, this tally will be presented each month to the Policy Board.  A copy of the coded worksheet is included as Appendix 3.

In addition, the Coordinator will meet regularly with Mentor/Intern teams, both individually and in support sessions, and will be available to them when they have problems at any time.

C. The timeline for this year will be as follows:

Immediately: Collect information concerning former Mentors still on staff Begin appointing Policy Board
Begin orientation of Selection Committee

By End of November: Begin Mentor selection process
Communicate with members of the educational community to explain program and roles

As Soon as Funded: Begin Mentor training
Complete selection and match Mentors with Interns
Hire Replacement Teachers
Provide Orientation for Mentors, Interns and Replacement Teachers

As Feasible:
Introduce Mentors to Interns
Explain use of contact worksheets
Obtain completed initial contact worksheets
 

Obtain completed educational plans
Obtain completed goals from each team
Begin Policy Board Meetings
Begin workshops

Weekly after start up:
Obtain contact worksheets

Monthly after start up:
Policy Board meetings
Program support sessions
March and April:  Obtain Mentor volunteers for next year
May: Complete Continuation Grant Proposal
May: Mentor selection begins for next year.
June: Evaluate program
July: Completion of CA-10F
July: Submission of Final Report to the Superintendent