The MRTP mentoring/induction component is in full swing! Mentors and mentees are connecting one-on-one through email, text, Voxer, and virtual meetings.
They also engage with the MRTP Home Base, an online platform housed on OPI’s Teacher Learning Hub (OPI is a primary MRTP partner). The Home Base supports two ongoing whole-group discussions, one for just-in-time Q&A and one featuring timely topics for new teachers. Recent threads include managing stress, structuring discussions, and working with support staff.
The Home Base also offers a series of Partners in Practice (PIP) activities that encourage mentors and mentees to collaboratively examine an aspect of instructional practice or professional growth. Partners choose from among topics such as Professional Reading, Teacher Self-Care, Social-Emotional Learning, Formative Assessment, and Looking at Student Work, with the goal of completing two PIPs each semester. All participants completed the first PIP, a Reflective Self-Inventory and debriefing session to assess the MRTP teachers’ self-perceptions and concerns.
Taken together, the tools available on the Home Base build community and help MRTP mentors tune in to the activities and needs of their individual partners.
We are grateful for School Services of Montana's efforts to ensure the MRTP Mentorship component supports mentees and mentors.