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Southern Oregon Mentor Consortium Newsletter
My mentor is a lighthouse that guides me to where I want to be as a teacher. She inspires me to keep rowing forward, even when the path is foggy and the waters of my classroom are turbulent." -Sara Kinstler, New Teacher Hidden Valley High School
Fall Edition : September-December 2016
SOMC Mentors Seek to "Be the Light"
YouTube sensation, business owner, and just plain awesome guy, Tim Harris inspired this year's SOMC theme. SOESD was honored to host Tim as the keynote speaker for our district-wide "welcome back" event this past fall. In his speech he highlighted Tim Harris' Rules for an Awesome Life which included: #1 Love People, #2 Work Hard, #3 Believe in Yourself, #4 Believe in Others, #5 Be Happy and Show It, #6 Use Your Super Power (Tim's super power is love), and #7 Don't Complain about the Darkness, Be the Light! Recognizing the challenges that educators face every year the SOMC were especially inspired by rule #7. The theme of "Light" shines on everything we do this year. We seek to connect with the light that inspires this important work, illuminate successes, radiate opportunities for personal/professional growth, and blaze a trail to next steps as we support new teachers and the children they serve.
Southern Oregon Mentor Consortium Welcomes New Director Dr. Heidi Olivadoti, Ed.D.
Dr. Heidi Olivadoti joined the ranks at SOESD this past fall. She will be replacing, the irreplaceable, Rea Snyder who plans to retire in June. Prior to joining the SOESD family, Heidi served as Director of Teacher Education at Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon 2015-16 and taught at Southern Oregon University from 2001-2015. She holds a doctorate in Education Leadership from George Fox University, a Masterās in Education/Early Childhood from Southern Oregon University, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from Pacific Lutheran University with an emphasis in Communication Arts and Social Science. Heidi is driven to build capacity for excellence in education by preparing teacher leaders who embrace diversity, strive for equity, continually improve practice, and serve with passion and purpose. Her career in education spans 26 years in three states: Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. Heidiās K-12 experience includes teaching 3rd grade, 1st grade, Title I Math and Language Arts, Talented and Gifted, and working as a Field Researcher and Data Collector. Heidi has been associated with Southern Oregon Education Service District, the Oregon Department of Education's grant-funded Mentoring Project and the New Teacher Center (NTC) since 2008. From 2008-2014, she mentored new teachers in Grants Pass, Phoenix-Talent, Ashland, Prospect, Three Rivers, and Medford. In fact, this work inspired her dissertation, titled "New Teacher Induction, Mentoring, and the Development of Self-Determined Professional Educators". In addition to her work in the public sector, Heidi established Professional Education Resources LLC in 2001 with the mission to support professional educators who work collaboratively, act with integrity, and serve with passion. Heidi is personally and professionally fascinated by the pursuit of happiness and her research interests are largely based in Positive Psychology. Theories such as Flow (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi), Self-Determination (Edward Deci and Richard Ryan), Core Reflection and Multi-level Learning (Fred Korthagen and Angelo Vasalos) are foundational to Heidiās work.
Mentors to Shed Light on Educational Implications of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Strategies to Support Health and Healing
DATA SNAPSHOT
...from Oregon Mentor Project Year-end Survey 2015-2016
From September to December, new teachers are inundated with intense demands and experiences that are exciting and thrilling in the fall - but tend to become overwhelming and exhausting by the winter. It's important to recognize that this is a normal cycle and may persist, usually to a lesser degree, over the course of an entire teaching career. The disillusionment phase can leave many new teachers questioning their decision to become a teacher and wondering if they have what it takes to meet the rigorous academic, social, emotional, and physical demands that teaching requires. The good news is that disillusionment almost always gives way to rejuvenation in the spring which brings renewed energy, hope, and determination to meet challenges, celebrate successes, and ultimately serve students well.
Goodbye Anticipation Hello Disillusionment
Mentor Consortium Field Notes
Three Rivers and Grants Pass School Districts are supporting their first year teachers through a First Year Teacher Cohort this year. Three Rivers is funding this effort through Collaboration Grant dollars, which help to pay the TRSD teachers and facilitators for their hard work and participation. The first cohort in August modeled a teacher's first day of school and all of the little (but very important things) that can be done in order to set a teacher up for success for the rest of the year. The second cohort, in late October, modeled the formative assessment cycle. The teachers' mentors attend the cohorts with their mentees, which allows follow-up conversations and support to be more meaningful. There will be two more cohorts this school year, the topics being determined through a survey of the teachers' needs and desires. We are hoping to involve our 2nd through 4th year teachers as facilitators, so that our brand new teachers can see how much growth is possible through the excellence of the teachers who have already benefited from this incredible program. - PLC Leader, Kirsten Valenzuela, TRSD/GP
Mentoring in Klamath County School District is off to a great start. Our 2 mentors are working with 23 teachers in 12 different schools this year, and everyone has been working together successfully to support our teachers. We have 2 mentors that were current classroom teachers before they began to mentor, which our district finds very beneficial. They are well-versed in current district policy, and have participated in additional training in our evaluation framework. One of our mentors has been in her current position for 3 years. We have one mentor that is in her first year; she is attending NTC trainings, and is enjoying learning more about all that mentoring involves. Currently, we are focusing on visiting classrooms and learning from other teachers. Mentors have taken teachers to a variety of different schools to focus on engagement strategies, curriculum specific ideas, classroom management techniques and use of technology. After we return from winter break, mentors will focus on observations and providing data that helps as teachers reflect on their practice. Our mentors are thoroughly enjoying their work, and are continuing to collaborate and support teachers in KCSD. - PLC Leader, Heather Pearson, KCSD
The Medford District mentor program has 20 trained mentors who serve 61, first and second year teachers and 3 administrators. Medford schools and our mentor program provide an 8 session first year teacher course spread throughout the year. The first year teacher cohort is paid to attend 2 days of training in August. The focus is on starting the year strong by using strategies from Harry Wongās, First Days of School. Teachers also receive information about the mentor program and work with their mentors during the training. On the second day teachers receive proficiency grading and gradebook training. The additional sessions address classroom management (Love and Logic- Fay and Frank) and working with students of poverty (Engaging Students of Poverty- Jensen). Teachers who are in the second year cohort receive 4 days of SIOP training. This model helps teachers plan and deliver lessons that allow English learners to acquire academic knowledge as they develop English language proficiency. Mentors support their teachers by helping them to incorporate the newly learned strategies into their teaching practice. In addition, mentors support beginning teachers through face to face meetings, classroom observations and debriefs, lesson design, goal setting and the analysis of student work. - PLC Leader, Peggy Strain, MSD
The Ashland mentors are mostly retired Ashland teachers whose love for the district and its desire for excellence motivates all they do to help the new teachers succeed. Their passion for serving kids, providing a safe environment and inspiring students to love learning is evident as they support their teachers by observing, assisting and strengthening the new teachers' growth and confidence. - PLC Leader, Leeanne Wallace, ASD
"Education never stops and I am learning so much about myself during this journey. If you make mistakes you are learning and trying new things. Having a seasoned mentor has inspired me to grow each day." -Tiffany Baida, New Teacher Lincoln Savage Middle School
A new year brings new beginnings. As a teacher, we get to celebrate two new years. The new calendar year, but more importantly the new academic year. For some of us, myself included in this group, we returned to the classroom this August not as a student but as a first year teacher. Not unlike our own students, there were jitters, learning curves, trial and error, and stress. Luckily, in my own practice and hopefully in many of yours, there was also joy, sweet discoveries, fulfillment, creativity, camaraderie, and much more. The proverbial message coming from education is often one of budget cuts, too-full classrooms, run-down facilities, outdated or disconnected curriculum, and jaded teachers. For myself however, as a new teacher, or perhaps because I entered the profession later in life, I have found things to be so much different. The challenges exist, but what is beyond that is the opportunity for a new beginning each lesson, each day, each week, and with each student. My classroom of 24 first graders is filled with a well-balanced mix of culture, gender, religion, race, learning styles, preferences, talents, understandings, and outlooks. Every day I have something new to learn, to teach, to share, to tell, to do, to get to see, and to get to be with them. There are still challenges of course, but the new is what makes this career so unique. Teaching has two new years, but it has a multitude of new beginningsā¦both ones we make for ourselves and ones we get to experience with our students.
Awesome PD Opportunities...Click on Pictures Below for More Information
Reflection
Zoey Boyles, New Teacher Oak Grove Elementary
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