Professional development created for principals and administrators to strengthen their leadership skills in order to provide support and guidance to the next generation of school leaders.
NAESP’s National Mentor Training and Certification Program™ offers a highly structured professional development program designed to create a cadre of mentors whose expertise is channeled to support school leaders. The training program integrates research-based best practices with participants’ knowledge and experiences. The program can be customized according to a school district’s specific needs.
Overview
The National Mentor Training and Certification Program™ is comprised of two parts.
Part One: Leadership Immersion Institute (LII)
The 2-day LII is the opening event of the program. Participants explore the theoretical foundations of adult development and learning, and the mentoring process. Once grounded in these foundations, the participants learn various practical techniques and strategies to use with the mentor/protégé relationship. Participants receive 15 professional development hours for completing the LII. Participation requires a prerequisite activity, the Top 5 CliftonStrengths assessment, which should be purchased from Gallup.
The four modules explored during the LII are:
- Mentoring Principals to Lead Learning Communities
- Build Culture: Creating Schools That are Great Places to Teach and Learn
- Empower People: Leading Learning to Bring Out the Best in Teachers and Students
- Optimize Systems: Ensuring School Operations, Processes and Contexts Support Effective Teaching and Learning
Part Two: Mentor Certification
Upon completion of the LII, participants who choose to pursue National Mentor Certification will transition into the nine-month Mentor-in-Training (MIT) internship. The process begins with the MIT selecting a protégé who agrees to work with the MIT for the duration of the internship. Each month, the mentor and protégé interact (electronically or face-to-face) for a total of 72 contact hours. The MIT reports their work to the coach who has been assigned to his/her cohort of MITs. Online chats or conference calls are held monthly for MITs and coaches to discuss the mentoring process, lessons learned, and recommendations. A final project regarding the mentoring process is required.
Award of Certification
Participants who attend the Leadership Immersion Institute AND successfully complete the Mentor-in-Training internship are awarded the National Mentor Certification. This certification is renewable after three years.
Connecting Leadership Standards
The mentor program strategically aligns the curriculum with NAESP’s 2019 edition of Leading Learning Communities: Pillars, Practices, and Priorities for Effective Principals to the Association’s Mentor Competencies and the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL).
Experiences That Make a Difference
Principals and educators from the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Houston, TX share their positive experiences having participated in NAESP's National Mentor Training and Certification Program.
Schedule & Registration
The first step towards becoming a NAESP Certified Mentor is completion of a Leadership Immersion Institute training. All trainings will be conducted in a virtual format for 2020-2021.
Please note that participation in a Leadership Immersion Institute requires a prerequisite activity, the Top 5 CliftonStrengths assessment, which should be purchased from Gallup.
Leadership Immersion Institute
May 5-6, 2021 • Virtual Training • 9:00 am - 3:00 pm EST
Registration form
For more information or if you are interested in setting up a mentoring training in your area please contact Katie Earley at kearley@naesp.org or 703-518-6264. Click here to download the program flyer.
Goals
- To provide the support that novice, newly hired, aspiring, and turnaround principals must have to fully develop their leadership skills through ongoing, consistent, individualized professional development opportunities and expert coaching with highly-qualified mentors.
- To create a core of experienced principals with the appropriate skills and tools to promote leadership consistent with the Leading Learning Communities: Pillars, Practices, and Priorities for Effective Principals.
- To create a model for instructional leadership mentor training which is consistent with professional standards and addresses the specific needs of school principals and administrators.
Resources
How to coach strong school principals
District Administration Magazine
Principal preparation programs continue to place more demands on candidates, in some cases requiring a yearlong internship. When the time comes to assume the role, no amount of preparation can prepare a person for what lies ahead. The constant demands, interruptions, rules, pressure and stress can wear down even the most resilient person. In a Rand Corporation study of first-year principals, researchers found that 107 of 519 new principals left the profession within two years. Read more.
NAESP Webinar: Enhancing Principals' Skills through Sustainable Mentoring Programs
Description: Learn how mentoring programs should be designed and operated to meet the most pressing needs of school leaders. Drawing on recently collected survey data and interviews from the field, you’ll find out how school leaders and district administrators can make a strong case for the establishment of a sustainable mentoring program.
Presenter: Lynn M. Scott, national leadership development consultant
Download the PowerPoint presentation.
Mentor Training Video from Long Beach, CA
Mentor Training Video from Gilbert, AZ
Certification Renewal
National Mentor Certification is valid for three years and may be renewed through participation at a Recertification Training session. This 1-day training is focused on renewing and updating knowledge and skills based on NAESP’s 2019 edition of Leading Learning Communities: Pillars, Practices, and Priorities for Effective Principals and the Association’s Mentor Competencies. The recertification process includes reflection and discussion among participants as well as documentation of mentor experience within the previous three year certification period.
All trainings will be conducted in a virtual format for 2020-2021
Registration Fees
Contracting
For more information or if you are interested in setting up mentoring training in your area please contact Katie Earley at kearley@naesp.org or 703-518-6264.
National Mentor Training and Certification Program™ Flyer
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