Tennessee Statewide CTE Mentoring Services Needs

Greetings to all CTE Directors across the State of Tennessee,

I am aware that everyone is extremely busy preparing their 5 year plans and one year plan for 2008-2009. As many of you are aware, a pilot program to provide new teacher mentoring has been under way for the past 12 months in the Upper Cumberland Region. Tennessee Tech University is partnering with the Division of Career Technical Education to study the possibility of a Statewide Mentoring Program for all new CTE teachers across the state. The pilot program has proven to be effective in the following ways:

• reducing teacher turnover
• helping systems to meet the requirement of mentoring for Occupational Licensure
• helping new teachers to move towards a Professional License
• helping teachers to develop skills and knowledge of curriculum development
• working with special needs students
• using technology in the classroom
• developing teaching strategies
• classroom organization
• dealing with discipline in the classroom

The effectiveness of the pilot program in the Upper Cumberland Region is based on data and feedback of Directors of CTE and the mentorees receiving mentoring services in the pilot area.

The Division of Career Technical Education in partnership with Tennessee Tech University wishes to expand this mentoring service to every system in the state. Therefore, I need some very important information to begin to develop a mentoring service for everyone. As the data is collected and organized; Tennessee Tech University will begin to do the follow in 2008-2009:

1. Identify where new CTE teachers are located and mentoring services are needed
2. Identify systems that want to participate in the mentoring program
3. Identify potential mentors across the state
4. Develop training for mentors
5. Begin to look at different methods of delivering mentoring services
6. Develop different funding models for providing mentoring services to each system

Please complete the following Mentoring Needs Survey. With your help, I can begin to collect the necessary data to make a Statewide CTE Mentoring Program available across the state. I appreciate your help so much. Without your input, I will not have the data to make this program a reality for all.

Thank you,
Terry

Terry Webb
Director of Career-Technical Teacher Training
Tennessee Tech University
Box 5073
Cookeville, TN 38505-0001
931-372-3394  931-267-6027
twebb@tntech.edu