Mentoring matters! Through San Diego's mentor program, principals address the practical application of instructional issues with the input of a trusted colleague.

"The power of our mentors is not necessarily in the models of good teaching they gave us.... Their power is in their capacity to awaken a truth within us, a truth we can reclaim years later by recalling their impact on our lives."

-- Parker Palmer 

Over the next decade, California faces a severe shortage of qualified school site administrators. Whether the state will be able to meet the demand will depend largely on how school districts solicit, train and retain new administrators.

In January 2000, the school board for the San Diego City Unified School District approved a plan to provide job-embedded training for site administrators. The goal of the program is to deepen the leadership capacity of the district's site administrators. This goal is accomplished by providing site administrators with the opportunity to work regularly with mentor principals.

The development of a close working relationship between a site administrator and a mentor provides the site administrator with the opportunity to address current instructional issues, and to develop a practical application of those important issues with the input of a trusted colleague.

The initial expenditure of more than $250,000 for this program reflects the district's commitment to building a program that values the selection, development and retention of San Diego's future leaders.

Why have mentor principals?

When I was appointed to my current position as principal of Carson Elementary School, I had 16 years of successful teaching practice that included terrific staff development opportunities. I also had extensive experience leading staff development both nationally and within the district. I knew, because it had been my experience as a teacher, that I could only affect change if I could empower classroom teachers. It was clear to me that teachers must lead change because they most closely understand the issues and they hold the power to transform a system.

As the new principal at Carson Elementary School, I knew that my success as an administrator depended on my ability to provide the teaching staff with both strong pedagogical tools and a sense of professional empowerment that would allow teachers to feel confident in their abilities and instructional decisions. While I had a strong background in teaching and staff development, I had little experience with managing a school site or implementing a districtwide mandate for change.

How are successful mentor/mentee relationships established?

When Jan Kaneko was assigned as my mentor, we had never formally met. Jan had an excellent reputation as a site administrator, a position that she had held for the previous 15 years. At the inception of the program, Jan was assigned to mentor seven principals. These principals were selected because they were considered to have the potential to become strong instructional leaders.

Unlike the traditional, deficit-model mentoring program, the intent of the process in San Diego was to build on existing strengths. It was a privilege to have been selected to the program and there was an expectation that each of the mentees would develop into strong district leaders.

The program also differed from usual mentor/mentee models because Jan was not responsible for her own school site while mentoring each of us. Her sole responsibility was to help each of us develop into strong instructional leaders. She was available to attend and give us feedback on staff conferences, teacher coaching sessions and parent meetings. She scheduled bi-weekly visits, but she was also available on short notice when we needed immediate help.

As Jan and I developed a relationship, it became clear that her goal was to provide me with support and the benefit of her knowledge and experience so that I had the tools and confidence to excel. Like my understanding of teacher empowerment, Jan understood that I could only be empowered by an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. Jan and I developed a collegial relationship through conversations, discussions and problem-solving sessions about the school site and instructional practice.

According to the district's plan, Jan's role was not to evaluate me, but to aid in my analysis and development of the teaching program. The program was intended to be a collaborative effort to improve instruction and raise academic achievement for every child. The problem-solving sessions, with two trained professionals, were aimed at generating possibilities, encouraging new thinking and developing an action plan that would ultimately "improve education in the only way it can be -- through the day-today actions of empowered people" (Fullan, 1977).

Most valuable experiences:

1. Walkthroughs

Jan and I spent most of our time in walkthroughs. Walkthroughs are short observations in classrooms with time for debriefing at the end of each session. We gathered enormous amounts of information during this time in classrooms.

During our initial walkthroughs, we looked at student engagement, classroom environments and pedagogical competence. After the walkthroughs we discussed what we observed, identified trends and developed steps for improvement. AS we developed a relationship and built our understanding of the strengths and needs of the school, we could further focus our walkthroughs.

For example, during our walkthroughs we observed many students who were not able to articulate the purpose of the independent reading session. We therefore structured our walkthroughs to look intently at the structure of the mini-lessons within Readers' Workshop. Subsequently, we found that many teachers were effectively modeling the reading strategy, but they were not having the students "try it on" before they went to their independent reading.

With the help of my staff developer, we immediately addressed the issue through a staff workshop and a demonstration lesson highlighting this important step in the structure of a mini-lesson.

Our focused walkthroughs helped me plan staff development based on the true needs of the teachers and students. In addition to informing staff development, our walkthroughs and conversations helped me identify effective intra-district visitations, teacher pairings and professional study groups that would build site capacity.

2. intra-district visitations

The insight gained during walkthroughs enables the mentor to serve as a resource for setting up and facilitating intra-district visitations. Because the mentor principal works with a number of different principals, she has insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the principals and staff members with whom she works.

The effect of "loose coupling" (Weick, 1976) also exists for site administrators. Like teachers isolated in their classroom, principals become insulated from their peers across the district or within the county. Decisions about how to best provide staff development and reform instruction were traditionally made at the school site, not within the context of the larger school system.

The district's program provides mentors with a deep knowledge of districtwide reform efforts and practical ideas about how these efforts are being implemented in at least seven different sites throughout the district. This knowledge enables the mentor to match site administrators, grade-level groups and individual teachers based on individual abilities and needs and to set up demonstration lessons or teacher walkthroughs. The mentor/mentee relationship therefore also offers the site administrator a window into what's happening in other schools around the district.

Intra-district visitations are designed to provide teachers and site administrators with the opportunity to observe exemplary practices and skills of other teachers and site administrators. For example, when I observed teachers talking to students about reading strategies instead of actually modeling good strategies, Jan suggested a visit to a specific teacher who explicitly modeled comprehension strategies for her second-grade class. In addition to having Carson teachers visit a strong model, I was able to discuss how to address this and similar issues with a colleague.

Another example of effective intra-district visitation occurred when a teacher at Carson struggling with flexible grouping within guided reading was sent to watch a teacher at a neighboring school who had developed an organizational strategy to effectively assess and group students. This experience provided our own staff member an opportunity to learn and grow as a professional and to share her learning experience with our staff upon her return.

3. Teacher pairings

"Large-scale improvement requires deference to and respect for expertise." During weekly walkthroughs the mentor and the site administrator can "capitalize on differences in expertise, predict failure in the social isolation of practice and create interdependencies that stretch over these differences" (Elmore, 2000).

Instructional strengths and weaknesses are determined and teachers are paired for short-term or long-term associations. Teachers who are identified as resources are assigned to mentor other teachers at the school site. If teachers with relevant mentoring skills are not on site, teachers who have identified weaknesses are provided with the opportunity to participate in intra-district visitations.

At Carson, a second grade teacher who found a successful way to organize her library was matched with a third grade teacher struggling with how to organize chapter books. A teacher excelling in genre studies for fifth grade students was paired for the entire year with a new teacher excited about the prospect of planning a literacy block with specific academic performances as the outcome.

How does the mentor program build leadership capacity?

Each school in the district has a literacy peer coach/staff developer assigned to help classroom teachers improve their practice and deepen their skills. The mentor principal also strengthens the relationship between the principal and the staff developer. Walkthroughs and the mentor's strong involvement at the school site direct the principal's focus and help define the role of the staff developer.

After a number of walkthroughs with the mentor principal, the site administrator and the staff developer, key grade levels are identified and targeted for close work with the staff developer.

For example, at Carson, the fifth-grade team comprised three probationary teachers and one third-year teacher. They were a very talented group of teachers and Jan suggested strong coaching in Writers' Workshop. The peer coach was assigned to work intensively with this grade level. Next year, we will be able to pair fourth-grade teachers with the fifth-grade teachers to further strengthen the upper-grade writing program and build site capacity.

What changes occurred as a result of the mentor program?

The mentor functions as a resource for site administrators by keeping abreast of current literature and recommending appropriate readings to the site administrator. The mentor identifies and recommends seminars and workshops that closely match the needs of the teaching staff.

When I was having difficulty with a third-grade teacher focusing her lessons on a single teaching point or purpose, Jan suggested Carl Anderson's book, "How's it Going" as a resource to help me coach the teacher. When we identified the need for more authentic writing in the upper grades, Jan guided us toward an upcoming Lucy Calkins workshop. Jan understood the needs of the site and was always on the lookout to support the principal in leading instruction.

How does the mentor program nurture and help sustain principals?

Each month, principals met with district instructional leaders. These meetings included focused presentations from successful principals or strategy workshops by instructional consultants. In addition, each member of the mentee group met monthly with their mentor. These monthly meetings, planned and facilitated by the mentor principal, provided selected principals with strategies to improve their ability to become instructional leaders. Each session was designed to meet the collective needs of the site administrators.

Each of the district's site administrators must complete a work plan that details their vision and goals for the coming year. This plan thoroughly examines and assesses the existing strengths and weaknesses of the staff and outlines a plan of action for the school site.

The mentor principal plays a crucial role in the development of the site administrator's work plan because of her close relationship and constant contact with the school. Principals who have been assigned mentors have the luxury of truly discussing their unique site and individual teachers with someone who thoroughly understands the issues so that a comprehensive plan can be developed.

How does the program develop leaders for schools in the future?

The availability of an on-site mentor has provided me with a unique opportunity to develop my skills as an instructional leader. The relationship sponsored by the district's mentor/mentee program created an environment that demanded that principals "think and act around learning for continuous improvement" (Elmore 2000).

Attracting strong, capable people to school site administration is only the first step in building leadership capacity. Successful organizations change and improve because they involve their leaders in continuous growth opportunities. Administrators must be coached and supported in the same way an effective system supports teacher learning.

RELATED ARTICLE: success stories.

"My individual goal for our work together was to learn to be better at providing feedback to teachers after instructional visits. I have completely changed my method of arranging visits and coaching teachers as a result of our work. After an instructional conference I arranged my classroom visits to focus on the topic we were studying. Teachers know exactly what I expect to see when I visit, and sign up for a visit at a time convenient for them. My feedback sessions have become more immediate and my coaching skills have improved with Jan's guidance."

-- Barbara Shaw, principal, Pacific Beach Elementary School

"Jan has been instrumental in helping the leadership team and me chart the course for staff development throughout this school year. She meets with us on a regular basis, helps us set goals for the coming weeks then returns for updates and assists us in analyzing our process and setting new goals for the following month. She also attends our staff conferences and offers feedback to continue our work."

-- Cecilia Estrada, Principal, Cesar Chavez Elementary School 

"Jan, thank for your input on identifying and developing teacher leaders at Wegeforth -- identifying the strengths of the teachers so that other teachers could observe them in action!"

-- Steve Gennaro, principal, Wegeforth Elementary School

"You really helped us through your recommendations of professional readings as we planned and discussed professional development at Sunset View. One of our best staff conferences was when we had teachers read a variety of different authors' thoughts on Readers' Workshop.

-- Georgana Winters, principal, Sunset View Elementary School

References

Elmore, R. (2000). Building a New Structure for School Leadership. The Albert Shanker Institute.

Fullan, M. (1977). What's Worth Fighting for in the Principalship. New York, NY. Teachers' College Press.

Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Weick, K. E. (1976). "Educational Organizations as Loosely-Coupled Systems." Administrative Science Quarterly 21.

Carol Kuhl Barry is principal of Carson Elementary School in San Diego. Jan Kaneko is an elementary mentor principal for the San Diego City Unified School District.