News Highlights

Mankato school mentoring partnership cuts teacher turnover

Mentoring partnership with Mankato schools appears to reduce teacher attrition.

2008-10-21
By Tanner Kent, Free Press Staff Writer [published in The Free Press, Mankato, MN, 10/21/2008]

Two months of school are nearly over.

Any adjustment period has long since passed and, for first-year teachers, now is the time when reality sets in. There are student demands, parent demands, administrative demands — and not to mention the pressures of getting students to achieve.

And as Mankato first-year teachers Ann Benshoof and Marti Sievek are learning — and almost certainly knew — mentors and teacher induction programs are no substitute for teachers who are committed and passionate.

Benshoof teaches at Franklin Elementary and is a graduate student at Minnesota State University. The district's mentoring program features an agreement with MSU in which graduate fellows — like Benshoof — substitute for the district's mentors, who are on three-year assignments.
 

"Nothing could have prepared me," said Benshoof, who was among nearly 70 first-year teachers who took part in the first leg of Mankato Area School District's teacher induction program this August.

"There were so many things I didn't expect in the first month of school."

It seems any effort districts make to retain and empower teachers is worth the cost, according to research. The latest numbers from the New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz say half of all teachers quit before their fifth year and that, collectively, schools spend almost $3 billion on costs associated with teacher attrition.

In Mankato, the teacher induction program is nothing new, and neither are its successes.

While an actual impact is difficult to quantify, school officials say Mankato's attrition numbers are well below state and national averages. The program has received awards, been lauded by educators and continues to receive inquiries from other school districts.

"Our program provides the necessary information and support about the district, its programs and procedures," said Cindy Amoroso, Mankato's curriculum director and former mentor herself.

The district's teacher mentoring program calls for a handful of classroom observations during the first year as well as a handful of mentor meetings. The mentoring program also establishes informal connections through seminars and workshops, social gatherings and by encouraging veteran teachers to do informal mentoring.

But while Amoroso said, "Our mentors work very hard to provide many different opportunities for teachers to receive support, whatever their past experience may be," the fact remains: Classroom skill can only be gained in the classroom.

Benshoof teaches first grade at Franklin Elementary. And like all first-grade teachers, she is no stranger to a hectic day.

In the first month of school, she said, the primary objective was establishing a relationship with her class. Getting to know the students and their personalities, Benshoof said, is important at that tender age where school is as much about social and emotional development as academic.

And while Benshoof stressed that every day for a teacher is met with small joys and successes, she also said it took about two weeks for her class to have what she considered "its first good day."

"It's totally trial and error," she said. "What works today won't necessarily work tomorrow."

 That fact became apparent during a group health activity in which Benshoof asked her youngsters to identify feelings and their causes. When she asked students to name synonyms for angry, the first said "not a great mood." After an encouraging remark and a rephrase of the question, the next student answered: "not a good mood." Again Benshoof rephrased, only to have a third student answer with "a bad mood."

In those moments, Benshoof said, teachers have to rely on themselves and their own instincts to turn awkward situations into educational ones. And that kind of experience, she said, doesn't come from a mentor or a manual.

"I wonder all the time, ‘Did they get this material?'" Benshoof said. "There's just so much to do. And it's not just academics, there's also social and behavioral things to learn."

The real benefit of the teacher mentoring program, Benshoof said, is creating a climate of support. Benshoof said it helps to know that while she focuses her energy on the challenges within her own classroom, she can trust her mentors to be available.

"The support is not just from mentors, but from everybody," Benshoof said. "You can just feel that atmosphere and that's important."

Unlike Benshoof, who previously had only student-teaching experience, Marti Sievek is already a four-year teaching veteran. This year, he is teaching Spanish at both East and West high schools.

He moves comfortably in his classroom surroundings, using hand gestures and repetition to reinforce instructions to his class — spoken, of course, en Español. His pace is measured, but upbeat. He is personable — eliciting laughs for his salsa dancing and use of humorous photographs as discussion points — but commands a sharp 47-minute class period that moves crisply between several tasks.

For Sievek, who already was acclimated to the classroom, the most valuable aspect of the teacher induction program is getting a feel for how the district collaborates.

"My classroom is just as comfortable to me as my home," Sievek said. "Teaching is familiar to me and that's what I know. ... But collaboration is absolutely necessary when working toward the success of kids in school."

Formerly a teacher in Montrose, Colo., Sievek taught Spanish in a school district that struggled to graduate 60 percent of its students and was pocked with educational challenges. Now, in Mankato, Sievek still teaches Spanish, but in a district that graduates well over 90 percent and compares favorably with districts its size both state and nationwide.

For him, the difference is simple — and it comes down to teamwork. Whether revising curriculum to state standards or discussing education strategies for a particular student, Sievek said collaboration is necessary.

Professional Learning Communities — PLCs for short — have become standard throughout the district. Teachers, grouped by discipline or grade level, meet regularly to discuss curriculum plans and achievement strategies. Classrooms and teachers are no longer isolated from the building or peers. And the district mentoring program, Sievek said, lets teachers know from the outset that cooperation is both critical and expected.

"Collaboration is nothing new," Sievek said. "The difference is in the way it's delivered. What it's really about is making expectations clear across the board and getting people on the same page."

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