Running Head: MENTORING 1

Mentoring Program Design: Early Childhood Environments inGeorgia

Kristi R. Lachlan

EDU 5123 Professionalism, Issues, and Ethics in Education

School of EducationUniversity of the Southwest

Lynn Baade, Affiliate Professor

November 2013

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Mentoring Program Design: Early Childhood Environments in

Georgia

The recruitment and retention challenges effecting public

elementary and secondary schools is not a unique problem within

education. Within the field of early childhood education in

Georgia, the landscape began and continues to shift dramatically

since 2008 when the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning

(DECAL) partnered with the FPG Child Development Institute at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to conduct a research

study on the quality of early learning environments across the

state. The results of the study titled Georgia Study of Early Care and

Education, indicated that dramatic improvements in the quality of

early learning at all levels was required and provided validation

to some existing DECAL initiatives toward this end (Maxwell,

Early, Bryant, Kraus, Hume & Crawford, 2009; Georgia Department

of Early Care and Learning, 2009).

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Since 2009, there have been multiple policy changes and

shifts toward increasing the quality of Georgia’s early learning

environments at the child care, family home, and Georgia Pre-K

Program levels. Some of these initiatives include: higher

mandatory education requirements for lead teachers and directors,

the introduction of the Quality Rated program, new sleep safe

regulations for infants and toddlers, and the upcoming adoption

of statewide mandatory fingerprinting and background checks for

persons providing early learning and care experiences to

children. While these initiatives improve the learning

environments and the quality of experiences for children, they do

not come without requisite stress to providers across the state.

This is specifically true in regards to the higher mandatory

education requirements for lead teachers and directors.

Teachers in Georgia’s early learning environments with

multiple years of experience and service were informed through

the new education requirements that they were no longer

educationally qualified to lead their classrooms and that further

study and achievement of a Child Development Associate, a

Technical College Certificate, a Technical College Diploma, an

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Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, or a Bachelor’s

Degree in Early Childhood Education was required to maintain

their status within the profession. This was a key step toward

improving the quality of experiences through improving the

quality of education in those persons charged with the design of

the educational experience for young children. However, the

people were not financially prepared to meet the challenge of

returning to school themselves and the progress and continuing

education of Georgia’s early childhood educators has been a long

transition. The final deadline for all teachers to meet this

requirement is December 1, 2013 and many remain unprepared and

are facing unemployment (Georgia Department of Early Care and

Learning, 2013).

Why a Mentoring Program?

All of these developments have significantly shifted the

landscape of early education providers within Georgia. The

experienced teachers have found it better to move on to different

career endeavors leaving many years of experience evacuating the

profession. This vacuum is filled by newly graduating college

students who pursued and achieved their early childhood education

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credentials; but, who have little to no practical experience in

the classroom. A mentoring program where veteran teachers who

are invested in obtaining the educational credentials necessary

may go to work supporting and assisting the development of

emerging new teachers may be an option. This strategy would

enable Georgia’s early childhood environments to both maintain

their experience base and expand that experience to enriching and

guiding the development of new teachers, expanding retention and

reducing the costs of recruitment on the current horizon

(National Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 1999).

The Successful Mentor

The successful mentor teacher will be a seasoned individual

who has a very specific skill

set. Selected individuals must be considered highly skilled in

their area of expertise, in this case,

early childhood education. Additionally, these persons must have

the “confidence and presence

to offer counsel to other adults” (National Foundation for the

Improvement of Education, 1999,

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p.7). The ability to provide counsel and guide adult learning

and development in a positive way

is a key aspect of successful mentoring. If a mentee will not

receive feedback from the mentor,

then the relationship is an unproductive one and that

relationship is counter-productive to the

goals of a mentoring program. Two remaining key characteristics

are a passion for early

childhood education and an extended understanding of the

community and its’ resources

(National Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 1999). At

the heart of it all, a

successful mentor will have a “willingness to serve and a vote of

confidence by colleagues”

(National Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 1999, p.

8).

The Mentor - Protégé Relationship

The mentor – protégé relationship is perhaps the most

important part of a successful

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mentoring program and there are multiple aspects to it. Firstly,

the relationship must have a firm

foundation in trust. It is only through candid sharing and open

inquiry that the greatest amount

of progress can be attained. A protégé must be confident that

sharing their insecurities will not

jeopardize or weaken their position within a school environment.

This is especially challenging

for new teachers because they enter the field in their first year

working hard to prove themselves,

acquire acknowledgement and lay the foundation for their budding

future career. Confidentiality

policies may be the answer to creating foundational trust

(National Foundation for the

Improvement of Education, 1999).

Due to the required strength to be forged in the mentor –

protégé relationship, finding the

perfect match between mentor and protégé is important for those

in administration. A successful

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match will generate results, where an unsuccessful match will

generate frustration and

dissatisfaction over the long term. In some cases, a mentor team

approach is being utilized to

provide a multifaceted approach to the mentor-protégé

relationship. In such an arrangement, a

protégé has a mentor team whose members “offer assistance in

various specialized areas, such as

grade-level and/or subject-matter expertise, the use of

technology, classroom management, and

the everyday question involving policies, politics, and

procedures” (National Foundation for the

Improvement of Education, 1999, p. 9). Therefore, if a perfect

match cannot be achieved; a team

approach should be considered.

The Development Process

Responsible parties. The early care and learning community

in Georgia is comprised of

a large and varied group of corporate, privately owned, non-

profit, and state or federal funded

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and operated programs. The one overseeing organization that can

have the greatest impact on

the community and its’ workforce is the Georgia Department of

Early Care and Learning. As

such, it is this entity, or a separate yet related entity of

their design, which should have the

responsibility for design, development, implementation,

evaluation and monitoring of overall

effectiveness of a state-wide mentoring program.

Process description. The development process will need to

be a democratic one which

considers the perspectives, challenges and benefits a mentoring

program would provide to such a

diverse group of providers, the community at large, and the

teachers who would potentially be

eligible for participation in the process. Additionally, voices

from the educational support

community of colleges and universities who hold the

responsibility of providing training for new

teachers and continuing education experiences should be included.

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The creation process for the mentoring plan should be

reflective of the curriculum

development process. Because of the ever changing and growing

field of education, the needs of

teachers newly entering the profession will change over time.

Therefore, a process of

collaboration across all involved levels and dimensions is

essential. The over-arching goals of

the program will be decided by the Georgia Department of Early

Care and Learning and the

subsequent levels of discussion and aligned decision making will

occur at the region level. Final

implementation and adaptation will happen at the individual

school level and may be controlled

by a quality development program such as Quality Rated. Once

initial decisions and direct

oversight is determined, the program will enter the development

loop of planning,

implementation, evaluation, and return to planning as it develops

and grows (Oliva & Gordon,

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2013).

Components of the Mentoring Plan

Time. The effectiveness of a mentoring plan will have a

direct connection to the amount

of time that the mentor and the mentee spend working together.

It is recommended that meetings

occur weekly and that they are held during the work day and are

not reserved for weekends and

post-work hours. Time between mentor and mentee should be

focused on observations of each

other in the classroom where good teaching is modeled and in

meetings outside the classroom

focused on instructional strategies and resources. The “use of

email and other technologies to

maintain a mentoring dialogue in between face-to-face mentoring

sessions” is an additional asset

to facilitating effective communication and increasing the time

mentors and mentees have to

connect with each other (National Foundation for the Improvement

of Education, 1999).

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Confidentiality. Reflecting on the importance of trust in

the mentor-protégé

relationship, it is reasonable to understand that

confidentiality between both parties is essential

to building that trust. Many programs have signed

confidentiality agreements that support and

protect the communications between mentor and protégé. This is

recommended as it is a

defining gesture which helps all parties feel secure and

protected. Open and honest sharing

without the fear of punitive effects is essential to the

successful relationship and must be

protected by “mutually agreed policies designed to maintain the

integrity of the mentoring

relationship according to high standards of professionalism”

(National Foundation for the

Improvement of Education, 1999, p. 5).

Placement. Unlike public schools, early childhood

environments are generally privately

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owned and operated. Thus, placement of new teachers is at the

discretion of the owner or

director who agrees to hire them, creating the employee/employer

relationship. However,

placement of mentors would be at the discretion of the organizing

entity as designated in the

planning and development process. Schools would most likely need

to apply for mentor teacher

assistance and be accepted in order to have a mentor teacher

within the region assigned.

Mentor selection. There are four general areas of

characteristics to be considered when

selecting and individual to become a mentor teacher and support

the effectiveness of the

program. The individuals selected must have the proper attitude

and characteristics like

commitment, ability to model, a reflective learner, good humor,

problem solving skills, and

committed to lifelong learning. In the area of communication

skills, individuals must be

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articulate, be good listeners, possess strong time management

skills, be able to communicate a

passion for the craft, and be able to maintain confidentiality.

Professional competence and

experience are essential in prospective mentors as observations,

feedback, networks, the respect

of colleagues, and an ability to collaborate contribute to

success. Finally, effective interpersonal

skills and an ability to maintain a professional relationship

while demonstrating care for the

protégé and an ability to work and advise across cultures round

out the characteristics which

make a prospective mentor a strong candidate (National Foundation

for the Improvement of

Education, 1999).

Incentives. If the mentor teacher is not going to be a

full-time employee of the program

who advises multiple protégés across multiple schools in a

region, careful attention will need to

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be paid to incentives. Some attractive possibilities include

modified duties to incorporate

mentoring duties into teaching duties, the potential of

leadership or decision making roles within

the program planning process, credit toward training or

licensure/renewal, and/or protected and

compensated training time. It is important that monetary

incentives such as stipends or extra pay

are avoided as it leads to negative peer relationships and

jeopardizes the mentorship relationship

(National Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 1999).

Full-time employment with the

mentoring agency is recommended to create clear lines in regards

to incentives.

Training and support. Mentors do not arrive to the position

with all of the skills

necessary to be a successful mentor. It will be important to

provide training to teach mentors

how to fulfill their responsibilities and manage the mentor-

protégé relationship. A 4-6 week

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orientation and training program for new mentors is recommended

to help them understand and

equip themselves with the basic skills necessary to successfully

interact with adult peers at this

level. Most will have spent year teaching young children in an

early learning environment; but,

teaching adults will be a new endeavor and they must be supported

in order for the program to

succeed (National Foundation for the Improvement of Education,

1999).

Content. The content of the mentoring experience is

directly related to what the protégé

requires of the mentor. New teachers will enter the field with

different skill sets, even if they

have graduated from the same program. It will be important for

the mentoring process to evolve

in stages. First, focus should be on the practical information

which is necessary to accomplish

responsibilities like finding resources, requesting materials,

health and safety regulation basics,

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and more. This stage represents the nuts and bolts of the

teaching experience. If a new teacher

does not feel as if they have the proper supplies and does not

know where to find them, then they

do not feel effective or even competent. It is important to

dissolve insecurities of this easily

managed nature up front. The second stage is focused on the art

of teaching and creating

successful management skills in the classroom, or creating the

flow. In the third stage, the work

becomes deeper and shifts to focus on instructional strategies

and adaptive teaching strategies

based on observation and assessment of the students. It is the

most highly skilled mentor who

will meet the teacher where they are in their professional

development and help them proceed

effectively through the content stages (National Foundation for

the Improvement of Education,

1999).

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Evaluation. The effectiveness of a mentoring program must

be monitored and evaluated

in order to ensure that the mentoring process is supplying the

necessary content and support to

improve teacher retention, lower potential recruitment and

training costs, and ensure high quality

instruction and experiences for the early learners in Georgia.

Such an evaluation process will

need to be multifaceted. Mentor observations, protégé

observations, and survey based feedback

on the experience of working with a mentor will provide positive

learning and development

information and will assist in the selection of training supports

for mentors. Additionally, a

higher level of monitoring which collects data over time and

determines the long-term effect a

mentoring program has on teacher retention and on mentor

retention will help to ensure funding

and support on an ongoing basis. Feedback will need to be

gathered from the teacher training

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programs and from the business owners and other stakeholders in

the program as well which

evaluates the effectiveness and impact of the program, this

includes parent satisfaction. All

information will be valuable in continuing to help shape the

program as it moves forward

(National Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 1999).

Conclusion

A carefully designed mentor program provides an answer to

retaining the experienced

teachers who have a passion for their craft and bring excellent

experiences to the early learning

environment as it encourages them to achieve the required

training and provides a new level to

progress to within their field which demonstrates a value of

their accrued skills. Additionally,

with the bulk of teachers entering early learning classroom in

Georgia having education but little

practical experience, mentor-protégé relationships could salvage

their experience and help them

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to commit to longer service in the industry, avoiding burn out

and other potentially destructive

stresses. Retention of the existing knowledge base with the

addition of advanced education and

combining it with a newly emerging and educated work force with a

need for practical support

has the potential to create a highly qualified work force of

dedicated and passionate professionals

working for positive learning experiences in Georgia’s early

childhood education environments.

References

Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. (2013). Rules for

child care learning centers:

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Chapter 591-1-1. Retrieved November 10, 2013 from:

http://decal.ga.gov/documents/

attachments/CCLCRulesandRegulations.pdf

Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. (2009). FPG Child

Development Institute at

the University of North Carolina study of quality in Georgia’s early learning

environments. Retrieved November 10. 2013 from:

http://decal.ga.gov/documents /attachments/Quality_Study.pdf

Maxwell, K. L., Early, D. M., Bryant, D., Kraus, S., Hume, K., &

Crawford, G. (2009). Georgia

study of early care and education: Child care center

findings—Executive summary.

Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill, FPG Child

Development Institute. Retrieved November 10, 2013 from:

http://decal.ga.gov/

documents/attachments/ChildCare_ExecSum.pdf

National Foundation for the Improvement of Education. (1999).

Creating a teacher mentoring

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program. Retrieved November 4, 2013 from:

http://www.neafoundation.org/downloads /NEA-

Creating_Teacher_Mentoring.pdf

Oliva, P. F. & Gordon, W. R. (2013). Developing the curriculum. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson Education, Inc.