Teachers make connections for upcoming school year at New Teacher Orientation

On August 21-22, new teachers at the Mohonasen School District were busy preparing for the 2007-08 school year with help from administrators, teacher mentors and other district staff at New Teacher Orientation.

“The goal of New Teacher Orientation is to get new teachers off to a good start,” said Interim Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Michael Johnson. “We want to give them a framework of what the district is all about and to connect them to people who will help them to be successful.”

The informational orientation included everything from administrative and teacher introductions and learning about the Mohonasen vision, to talking about ethics, professional standards and preventative behavioral strategies. 

A main component to orientation is the implementation of the Mentoring Process, which Mohonasen started in 1999 and was state-mandated in 2004. 

“The mentoring program started in the late 90’s when a lot of the ‘baby boomer’ teachers started to retire,” said Academic Administrator and Bradt Assistant Principal Arlene DeSiena. “Our goal is to keep student achievement high and you can only do that with effective teachers.”

Every new teacher is assigned a mentor teacher during the orientation. The mentors are tenured teachers, meaning they have completed three years of successful teaching, and exhibit qualities that make them good role models. Mentors are active in the Mohonasen community, display knowledge in a variety of subject areas, are well organized and efficient and consistently have a positive attitude.

Throughout the two-day orientation, mentors and mentees go over “the basics” like finding teacher mailboxes, using the e-mail system, learning how to take attendance, and learning about the district observation process. Once school starts, the groups get together monthly to discuss upcoming responsibilities, such as how to input grades, and they also talk about problems in confidence the new teacher may be having.

“It is so important to rely on and trust the mentor program,” said fourth-grade teacher Cheryl Rasmussen who went through the mentoring program last year. “Sometimes it is hard to remember when you’re a new teacher that it’s okay not to know everything. I would utilize my mentor as much as possible. It can only make you a better teacher.”

“We talk about the importance of teachers forming connections with our students all the time, but it is so important to help form those same connections with adults, too,” added DeSiena. “That is why the mentoring program is so beneficial.”

Above photo caption: Academic Administrator and Bradt Assistant Principal Arlene DeSiena talks about the mentoring process to new teachers in the HS Farnsworth Technology Center on Tuesday, August 21.