Mentoring Program Design: Early Childhood Environments in Georgia

Mentoring Program Design: Early Childhood Environments in Georgia Kristi R. Lachlan EDU 5123 Professionalism, Issues, and Ethics in Education School of Education University of the Southwest Lynn Baade, Affiliate Professor November 2013 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). 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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. 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, 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). 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 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 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 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 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, 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). 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 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 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: 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 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. ENTORING 11 Running Head: MENTORING 1