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Beloit outlines mentor program, university partnerships and student-teacher pipeline
Summary
The district described mentor/mentee supports, training for new-teacher mentors (NTC training), building ‘buddies,’ and arrangements with UW–Whitewater and Beloit College that produced hires from recent student-teacher cohorts.
Rochelle Elliott, director of early learning and professional development for the School District of Beloit, presented the district’s mentor/mentee program and its student-teacher placements at the Sept. 16 meeting.
Elliott told the board that the district rewrote a mentor handbook in 2020 and now requires systematic mentoring for teachers in their first three years, along with a “building buddy” for staff with four or more years of experience who need orientation to district processes. She said some mentors hold New Teacher Center (NTC) training through CESA 2, a two-year program, and that the district currently has about 25 NTC-trained mentors and roughly 70 staff trained in district mentor tools.
Elliott described new-hire orientation, monthly cohort meetings organized by school level (elementary, middle, high) and building-level coaching and professional learning time. She said principals lead building-specific onboarding and that instructional coaches, program managers and department heads support new staff in classrooms and PLCs.
“Mentors do a survey at the end of the month just to see what kind of things they’ve talked about,” Elliott said, adding that the mentor–mentee relationship is treated as confidential and that typical mentoring topics include assisting students with diverse needs, communication, discipline, PLC participation and educator-effectiveness (EE) processes.
On student-teacher placements, Elliott said the district receives candidates mainly from UW–Whitewater and Beloit College and that the district asks universities for background checks and specific placement criteria. She said the district hosted 56 student teachers over three recent years and that 24 of those were later hired by the district (a 42% hire rate among the cohort she reviewed). Elliott said UW–Whitewater also offers a free course for teachers on hosting student teachers; the district paid for some teachers to take it through Title II funding.
Board members praised the program and noted the retention benefits. Amy Levy and others recounted positive experiences with mentees and student teachers in their classrooms. Elliott said the district also works with universities on scheduling flexibility and DPI requirements for placements and that student-teaching durations are governed by university and DPI rules (for example, a 15‑week student-teaching requirement).
The board did not take formal action on the mentor or student‑teacher programs during the meeting; district staff said they will continue recruiting, training mentors, and coordinating university placements.
