SPPS's mission is to "inspire students to think critically, pursue their dreams and change the world".  Educators hold the power to transform the lives of students and the community. 

A commitment to working with a mentor or supporting new educators in Saint Paul Public Schools through the Mentor Mentee Program is an essential component to ensuring all students have transformational teachers and educators in their lives equipped with the skills needed to realize the SPPS mission.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash 

The Mentor Mentee Program is individualized, differentiated, and flexible to meet professional growth goals for educators just entering the field of education and those coming to Saint Paul Public Schools with previous experience.  

Probationary educators under the SPFE bargaining contract participate in the Mentor Mentee Program in their first year of employment if they are not working with a Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) educator. Building principals or supervisors work very hard to find a mentor educator within the same grade level or content/professional area for each mentee. 

The Saint Paul Public Schools Mentor Mentee Program seeks to provide an effective transition into an education career in Saint Paul Public Schools through:

• building personal connections and a sense of belonging within the school and across the district
• developing a collaborative mindset, open to feedback and growth
• support for instruction and/or professional practices in order to continuously improve effectiveness and ensure all students have access to individualized levels of support
• ongoing reflection of instruction and/or professional practices 

The Mentor Mentee Program offers a minimum of 20 hours of collaborative support from a colleague over the course of the school year. Most mid-year hires will work with a mentor during the year they are hired (10 hours), and support will carry over into the next school year (10 hours). Educators will have the opportunity to develop a mentor mentee relationship with differentiated activities that might include:

• observations with feedback
• job shadowing
• review of student work/data
• discussions around professional goals
• other individualized support

Mentors provide collaborative reports to document the work together throughout the school year and mentees provide reflections on the collaborative work related to their professional goals.

Classroom teachers that participate in the Mentor Mentee Program during their first year of employment will then work with a PAR coach during year two or year three prior to achieving tenure in the district. Successful completion of the PAR Program is required to achieve tenure for teachers.

Casey Ulrich

Mentor Mentee Program Contact