Mentoring As Collaboration : Lessons from the Field for Classroom, School, and District Leaders

"This is the book for administrators who want to retain their novice teachers and strengthen their pedagogical abilities to ensure student success. Blank and Kershaw provide the complete guide to planning, initiating, managing, and solving the dilemmas associated with mentoring."
―Dave F. Brown, Coauthor, What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know

"Blank and Kershaw have put together a handbook that should be on the desktop of anyone managing an induction program, preparing mentors, or serving in a mentoring role themselves."
―Kenneth R. Howey, Research Professor
University of Cincinnati

Transform intermittent one-on-one teacher mentoring into systematic, school-based new teacher support!

High-quality mentoring can have a direct, positive impact on instructional and student success when school-based teams of administrators and teacher leaders work together to promote shared ownership for new teacher success.

Mentoring as Collaboration shows school and district leaders how to develop a collaborative, team-based mentoring program that helps retain new teachers, improve student achievement, and boost school performance. Mary Ann Blank and Cheryl A. Kershaw present a practical, field-tested model that clearly defines roles, expectations, and experiences for new teachers, mentors, and school leaders and builds on the research on effective teaching, leadership, and organizational development. Administrators and teacher leaders in any school or district can use this comprehensive how-to guide to:

• Develop, assess, and sustain mentoring programs
• Attract and retain talented teachers
• Develop teacher leaders
• Create energized learning communities

With step-by-step guidelines and real-world scenarios, this resource provides all the structures, policies, and practices that school and district leaders need to establish a systematic mentoring program to help beginning teachers develop confidence, competence, and professional skills.

Mary Ann Blank has spent most of her professional life as a teacher educator at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and as an educational consultant to numerous school systems in Tennessee and other states. Her current work is providing leadership, professional development, and assistance to schools and school systems in the areas of curriculum and instruction, teacher evaluation, and school improvement. At UT, she teaches courses in instructional theory and design, curriculum development, and analysis of professional practice. She is the clinical professor supervising and instructing teaching interns at Alcoa Elementary Professional Development School. She is collaborating with Cheryl Kershaw and others on a Title II teacher quality grant, focusing her work primarily on enhancing the practice of outstanding teachers in many of Knox County′s inner-city schools. She is also a Dimensions of Learning trainer and works with educators in Loudon County Schools on systemwide implementation of this interactive and differentiated model of planning and instruction. Another of her responsibilities is as a developer and copresenter with Kershaw on Mentoring for the Tennessee Academy for School Leaders.

In the past, Blank has presented at national meetings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), and others professional organizations. She has written a number of published articles and is a coauthor of several texts.

Carol Kershaw has served as director of University of Tennessee’s Urban Impact initiative, which was funded through a federal grant seeking to improve teacher quality. She previously taught English and remedial reading at Fulton High School for nine years.

A graduate of Bearden High School, Kershaw earned a doctorate in curriculum and a master′s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Tennessee. She earned a bachelor′s in English education from Arizona State University.