Students in the Child Development program at SRJC may participate
in the Mentor Teacher Program. We are proud to be part of the
state network of Mentor Teacher programs.
Students in the Child Development program at SRJC may participate
in the Mentor Teacher Program. We are proud to be part of the
state network of Mentor Teacher programs.
Mentor Teachers are experienced and specially trained teachers of young children who classrooms have been selected as supervision sites for student teacher placement. Stipends are paid to Mentors. Stipend amounts vary depending on the time spent supervising students.
Why have Mentor Teachers?
Teachers who become Mentors will receive a stipend for each hour of supervision they provide. Mentor Teachers will enjoy an increase in status, which, combined with increased income makes it more likely that they will stay on the job and enjoy their work. Their "career ladder' will be expanded.
Student teachers who work with mentors will have greater choice of time, location and type of field experience. Mentors and student teachers will work on a one-to-one basis, allowing for intensive guidance and feedback.
Participating centers will benefit from increased staff professional
growth. Mentor Teachers will improve their skills and their ability
to communicate their knowledge to other staff, while other staff
will gain greater access to college training through on-site field
experience options. Young children and their families will benefit
from improved child care resulting from reduced staff turnover,
increased teacher satisfaction and more and better trained new
teachers, Child care 'jobs are plagued by low salaries, poor working conditions
and little professional status. These factors often cause good teachers
to leave their jobs, resulting in unusually high staff turnover
in the child care field. Many centers lose more than half their
staff each year. Centers paying the lowest wages lose the greatest
number of teachers. In programs with so much inconsistency children
suffer. They spend less time using learning materials and build
language and social skills more slowly than other children their
age.
Frequent staff turnover places the added burden on remaining staff of providing program continuity and training to new staff. Those who remain in the field are seldom rewarded for additional responsibilities by commensurate pay or status. With increasing demands for more trained teachers, training options are also limited by college restrictions on location, schedule and sequence of required courses. The National Center for the Early Childhood Work Force, formerly the Child Care Employee Project, has developed the Mentor Teacher Program as an answer to these critical concerns.
What is the Child Care Center's role?
Centers support their Mentor Teacher by providing a setting where quality teaching and leanring can take place. This includes the following:
How do students become assigned to Mentor Teachers?
Students who wish to train with a Mentor Teacher must submit written applications to their field experience instructors prior to enrollment. Applications include the following:
How does one become a Mentor Teacher?
There are three steps.
1) Complete "The Mentor Teacher" course at Santa Rosa Junior College. To be eligible for this course, teachers must have successfully completed a formal course of study in early childhood education (e.g. AA Degree or Certificate Program) which included a supervised practicum component.
2) Apply to become a Mentor. Application is made to the Mentor Selection Committee and includes the following:
3) The Mentor Selection Committee meets annually to review all application materials and program quality assessment measures. Those applicants who are selected as Mentors will be assigned student teachers according to demand and funds available. Mentor performance and sites will be periodically reviewed.
For more information contact:
Lynne Doherty
