Mentoring and Coaching: A Lifeline for Teachers in a Multicultural Setting

"These two remarkable educators not only document the development of their own relationship from mentor/mentee to professional colleagues, they also draw from their own experiences, research studies, and the real voices of countless new teachers to provide an excellent, hands-on guide for perfecting the mentoring role in multicultural settings. Kudos!"
―Lisa Delpit, Eminent Scholar, Executive Director
Center for Urban Education and Innovation

Help new teachers thrive in culturally and linguistically diverse school settings!

The challenges of teaching in a culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) school, including language barriers, special needs, and teacher isolation, can be especially overwhelming for early-career teachers. This unique book on mentoring and coaching new teachers is specifically designed for multicultural school settings, although educators in all settings can benefit.

The authors draw from their own experience implementing a highly successful mentoring program for new teachers in a large, urban school district. The book offers practical examples anchored in the current theoretical and research base for the professional development of novice teachers in urban as well as non-urban areas. Filled with vignettes that directly capture the real-life experiences of new teachers and their mentors, this volume:

• Illustrates how to develop effective teacher-to-teacher mentoring relationships
• Raises readers′ awareness of issues that might arise from CLD differences and facilitates more effective communication
• Offers reproducible resources, agendas, and other sample materials for a variety of contexts

This timely and practical book helps mentors give new teachers the support they need to survive and succeed in diverse school settings.

Denise M. Gudwin is currently an adjunct professor at Florida International University and national consultant for the Bureau of Educational Research. She retired from Miami-Dade County Public Schools after thirty years of service, July 2008. Her past experiences in the fourth-largest school district include teacher, district curriculum support specialist, district instructional supervisor of Programs for Learning Disabilities, and district executive director, Office of Professional Development and Center for Professional Learning.

Denise is the author of four teacher seminar handbooks with the Bureau of Education and Research and A Qualitative Study of the Perceptions of Six Preservice Teachers: Implementing Oral and Written Retelling Strategies in Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities (2002 ERIC 466 869); she is co-author of the Phonological Awareness and Early Literacy Assessment (Wright Group), Professional Development: Assisting Urban Schools in Making Annual Yearly Progress (September 2007 - the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research), and A Qualitative Study of New/Early Career Special Education Teacher Retention in a Multicultural Urban Setting (Spring 2008 – Florida Educational Leadership Journal).

She is past president of Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Miami Chapter 121; newsletter editor, Florida Council for Exceptional Children (FCEC), and conference chair for the 2007 State FCEC Conference; and past president for FCEC Florida Division of Learning Disabilities (DLD).

Gudwin’s graduate work includes a master’s degree in reading and a PhD in education leadership with a focus on teaching reading to students with learning disabilities. Her areas of interests are literacy, student success, learning disabilities, teacher support, professional development, and research.