MENTORS FOR FIRST-YEAR TEACHERS
School districts nationwide report difficulty in keeping new teachers; in fact, districts report newly hired teachers are leaving their systems at alarming rates. Based on the most recent data, Greenville County Schools loses nearly one-fourth of new teachers in their first five years of teaching. Turnover rates in some South Carolina schools are as high as 45%.
The Alliance for Quality Education (AFQE) has been working closely with Greenville County Schools to create effective induction programs that will improve new teacher retention rates in our community. Recognizing the problem, the school district has established a mentoring program to provide more support for new teachers. However, as currently structured, this system has limited effectiveness. School district mentors work under the constraints of having a full teaching assignment in addition to their mentoring assignment.
In 2006, The Alliance for Quality Education (AFQE) sought to improve and expand teacher mentoring for first-time teachers in Greenville County Schools. The Alliance for Quality Education (AFQE) developed a program using the "Teacher-to-Teacher" mentoring program which was modeled after national exemplary programs. In the first year, 3 teacher mentors were hired to assist 15 first-year teachers in 3 Greenville County schools: Mitchell Road Elementary, Northwood Middle, and Southside High.
Current data indicates that the first year of The Alliance for Quality Education (AFQE) intensive mentoring approach has proved successful. Of the 15 teachers mentored in the 2006-2007 school year, 14 returned to teach for 2007-2008. The Alliance for Quality Education (AFQE) expanded this program from 3 to 6 full-time mentors in the 2007-2008 school year reaching 6 schools within Greenville County Schools: Berea High, Blythe Academy, Greenbrier Elementary, Lakeview Middle, Sevier Middle, and Southside High. This past school year, 2007-2008, all of the teachers mentored through our program in 2006-2007 passed their formal evaluation process. It is The Alliance for Quality Education (AFQE) goal to reach first-year teachers in 8 schools in 2008-2009. The additional mentors to guide more novice teachers should decrease the turnover rate in Greenville County Schools and positively impact teacher quality and student achievement in these schools.
If you are a teacher at Berea High, Blythe Academy, Greenbrier Elementary, Lakeview Middle, Sevier Middle, or Southside High and are interested in becoming a mentor for first-year teachers, email The Alliance for Quality Education (AFQE) or call us at (864) 233-4133.