Louisiana Mentor Teachers
Mentor Teachers are local educators who have the knowledge and skills to effectively coach and support new and resident teachers in their district.
The Mentor Teacher role is also an important step in the leadership pipeline for talented local educators.
Background
Starting in July 2018, all teacher preparation programs in Louisiana will include a yearlong classroom residency alongside an experienced mentor teacher, and all preparation programs will include a competency-based curriculum that will provide teacher candidates with the knowledge and skills needed in order to be prepared for their first day of teaching.
In order to ensure that there is a robust pool of effective mentors, Louisiana has established a cohort of over 1,800 trained mentors.These mentors are equipped to support yearlong residents and other new or developing teachers.
What is a Mentor Teacher?
A mentor teacher is a classroom teacher who supports:
Mentors may co-teach with year long undergraduate or post-baccalaureate residents or may support teachers without co-teaching.
What is mentor teacher training?
In order to build a cadre of high-quality mentor teachers across the state, the Department is offering statewide mentor training beginning in late fall 2017. From 2017- 2020, over 1,800 mentors were recruited and trained. Through an RFP process, the Department partnered with The Dana Center, housed at the University of Texas at Austin, and Learning Forward, a non-profit organization, to design and deliver mentor training. Currently there are 29 approved providers of mentor training.
What will mentors be able to do by the end of training?
Visit the Mentor Teacher library to access all Mentor Teacher materials.
Mentor Teacher training and Content Leader training will create opportunities for educators across the state to develop the skills and knowledge needed to better support other educators. Visit the Content Leader page for additional information about Content Leaders and their training.