For over 10 years, the Questar III Mentor Program has paired veteran teachers with teachers new to the organization to help those new teachers grow professionally. Last fall, the Questar III board approved an expansion of the program to three years from its original one year.
Those mentors and mentees were honored at a recognition dinner at Moscatiello’s Family Restaurant in North Greenbush.
Program Coordinator Heather Silvernail set two goals for the program this year: growth and rejuvenation. Speaking at the dinner, she said it was evident by the number of people being recognized, the program was meeting those goals.
At the end of each year, surveys are distributed to participants to evaluate the program and provide feedback for what worked and what could be done differently. Silvernail says the feedback received is crucial to keeping the program running smoothly.
“What comes up as the most valuable part of our program, and the top response, is always the mentor relationship that you form, and it’s the guidance you give that makes the program so valuable,” Silvernail said while thanking mentors for their support.
Questar III District Superintendent Dr. Gladys I Cruz attended the recognition dinner and spoke to the value of having a long-term mentor program.
“As we see so many changes in education, I think this program is so important, and it becomes more important by the day. It’s so important to maintain our focus on the children we have in front of us and the teachers and the related staff we have to help through the first few years,” Cruz said.
The mentor program aligns with Questar III’s strategic plan, Shared Success. In that plan, Questar III is always working to be a “learning organization”. This means the organization will continue to evolve and adapt to become more helpful for students, districts and staff. It requires the opportunity for all parties to be involved in the process in order to make professional and organizational growth a continuous process.
“We need to maintain our focus on developing the staff that serve our children,” said Cruz.
Cruz held a brief comment period asking those in attendance what worked well for them in the program. The responses? Communication between mentor and mentee, after school professional development, and mentor days- days when both a mentor and mentee are out of their classroom, working one-on-one to debrief and plan ahead.
Each mentor also had the chance to speak about their mentee, and nothing but positive experiences were shared.
“I think the most helpful thing we did was working on NYSAA and IEP goals. She came to my class when I had a PD day with no students, so we just had some time together without students to work on things and it was really helpful,” mentor Erin Porambo said of mentee Alexa Brannigan.
“They have helped me more than I could have ever helped them,” Chris Carioto said of her mentee Ryan Maloney.
“I can’t say enough. We’ve become very good friends over the past year years, and I thank him, he’s a great guy,” Peter Desmond said of his time mentoring Michael McGillycuddy.
The Questar III Mentor Program was originally developed to improve student achievement and retain quality educators. This program is part of a New York State Department of Education (SED) mandate which requires the program to be overseen by a Mentor Committee consisting of both administration and representatives from the Teachers Association.
SED also requires new teachers to show documentation of successfully completing a mentor program in order to receive permanent certification.
Please visit old.questar.org/infocenter/hr/mentor.php for more information.
