As a principal of a small school with 50% of my staff either new or second year teachers, I found the support that they received from the Mentor Program to be invaluable. It was wonderful to watch my new staff member's confidence grow with each visit that Susan Hubbard made here. I would find her sitting on the floor with the teachers at 9:00 PM sorting materials and quietly "talking shop", and in the process providing the kind of coaching that most new teachers (and their principals) can only dream about.

It would be difficult to provide hard "data" on the impact the program has had on my site, but I do expect to see no turnover with my new teachers this year—the first year in the last six that this has happened.

I don't know what kind of information I could supply that would help support this program, but please let me know if there is anything I can do to help keep this program operating.

Ann Anspach, Beginning Teacher
Joann A. Alexie Memorial
Lower Kuskokwim School District

I highly value the experiences I have had with the mentoring project. My mentor teacher has done so much to reduce my stress in this first year of teaching in Alaska. She maintained a sense of humor and helped me to do the same, even in tough times. I cannot tell you how important it was to have an outside ear to listen and provide advice. The experience and professionalism of my mentor has been a positive model for me. She didn't try to force her timeline, needs or opinions on me, but rather made suggestions and asked what she could do to help.

I would summarize this program as one where we have an experienced professional to help us with problems and decisions. We have an experienced teacher to model teaching strategies. We have someone to bounce ideas off of. We have someone to help us find resources and answers. Most importantly, we have a friend who stays in regular contact with us, and who cares about our teaching success, and recognizes that we have to be cared for as whole people, not just as teachers. I think that the role of the mentor is most important at a small site where you have few peers to communicate with.

The only down side of the program is that it does take time to communicate with your mentor, whether by phone, e-mail or in person. There are some forms and questionnaires to complete, and you have some work to do for the program. This small price is far outweighed by the benefits of the program.

Brooke Staton, Principal Teacher
St. George Island School
Pribilof School District

My name is Brooke Staton and I am the Principal/ Teacher at St George Island School in St. George, Alaska. I am in my second official year of teaching and I have been working with Margaret Roberts through the Alaska teacher mentoring project this year. I wanted to let someone know just how important the mentoring program is to new teachers, especially in the bush! Since I work in an isolated school with two teachers (I teach K-4) I don't have anyone teaching primary grades to bounce ideas off of, discuss problems with, steal ideas from, etc. I don't often get evaluated. Margaret has provided me with great ideas from her years of teaching multi-age classes. She asks about my specific concerns, helps me find ways to address them, and has provided teaching materials from her own collection for me to use, a wonderful resource for me way out here. She has provided evaluative feedback and has helped me to recognize what I could improve and what is working well in my classroom. I think that this program does a great deal to ensure that Alaska's new teachers have the support and mentorship they need to be successful.

Thanks,
Brooke Staton