Albert Lea Public School District details year‑one mentor program, onboarding for 15 new staff

Tanya, a district staff presenter, told the Albert Lea Public School District board at a study session that the district will assign every teacher who is new to the district a mentor in their first year and will begin onboarding the 15 new staff members the next day.

"Our program mission is that Albert Lea Area Schools mentoring program will provide physical, emotional, instructional, and institutional support for the success of educators new to our district," Tanya said, referring board members to a mentoring program handbook provided for the study session.

The handbook, Tanya said, lays out four program components: onboarding, monthly mentor–mentee checklists, ongoing professional development led by mentor facilitators, and an annual program evaluation. Onboarding activities include a district information session, a bus tour of local facilities and buildings led by Holly Babcock and teacher of the year Andrew Gustafson, meetings with building principals, and mentor training. Tanya said the district will welcome 15 new staff: seven elementary, seven secondary and one adult‑education staff member.

The program uses a resource called Mentoring in Action to structure monthly checklists that cover supports the district groups as "physical, emotional, instructional and institutional." Tanya said the checklists are timed to the school calendar (for example, topics for October focus on preparing for parent‑teacher conferences). Mentor facilitators will run level‑specific professional development; the district has two elementary facilitators, one middle‑school facilitator and two high‑school facilitators who work with instructional coaches.

Tanya described tiered mentor responsibilities and a tiered stipend schedule negotiated in the district's memorandum of understanding. She said mentors to tier‑1 or tier‑2 teachers receive $1,200; mentors to tier‑3 teachers in their first through third year receive $600; and mentors to tier‑3 or tier‑4 teachers with more than four years' experience receive $400. The handbook specifies more frequent, hands‑on support for tier‑1 and tier‑2 mentees and monthly coaching conversations for tier‑3 and tier‑4 mentees.

Tanya said mentors are intended to play a coaching role separate from formal teacher evaluation. "For the purpose of mentorship program, it it's more of a coaching role and ongoing support, and the evaluation lies with the principal," she said. Tanya added that if a teacher has continuing contract status from another district they are evaluated by the principal for one year; if not, they are evaluated for three years. The district noted that years 2 and 3 of mentoring typically fall to instructional coaches rather than the mentor facilitators, and Tanya and other staff identified funding for mentoring beyond year 1 as an open challenge.

Sheila, speaking about paraprofessional supports, said paras receive training and shadowing when hired and must meet qualifications set by the Minnesota Department of Education; if they lack 60 college credits they take a master teacher assessment. Sheila also said the district provides extended onboarding for success coaches and includes them in literacy, behavior supports and cultural competence professional development when relevant.

Tanya said an annual program evaluation will use mentor and mentee surveys, teacher self‑assessments, and administrator input to make adjustments. She said mentor facilitators also track monthly checklist items flagged as "areas needing support" and follow up with building administrators and instructional coaches to resolve them.

At the start of the meeting the board approved the meeting agenda by voice vote. No other formal board actions were recorded during the mentor program presentation.

The board scheduled its next regular session for Monday, Aug. 18, at 5 p.m.