AR Handbook – 55 for the novice teacher to observe effective practice, and confidential guidance and support in accordance with the Professional Standards for Teachers, and guides the teacher in a selfassessment on the school district’s Commissionerapproved teaching practice instrument. • The one-to-one mentoring includes planned, in-person contact time between the mentor teacher and the novice provisional teacher holding a CE or CEAS over the course of the academic year, or proportionally longer if the novice provisional teacher holds a part-time teaching assignment. • The mentor teacher and the novice provisional teacher holding a CEAS meet at least once per week for the first four weeks of the teaching assignment. • The mentor teacher and the novice provisional teacher holding a CE meet at least once per week for the first eight weeks of the teaching assignment. • The one-to-one mentoring shall support the novice provisional teacher in achieving the curricular objectives of the formal instructional program in which the novice provisional teacher holding a CE is enrolled. • All contact time between the mentor teacher and the novice provisional teacher shall be recorded in a log, developed as part of the district mentoring plan, submitted to the chief school administrator or designee, and maintained within the school district. Since the mentoring relationship is confidential, NJEA recommends that this log be limited to the dates and times of the meetings. Who Pays? The code requires that district boards of education budget any state funds provided for the novice teacher mentoring program, but this is subject to the availability of funds provided by the Legislature in the annual state budget. The code specifies that the DOE appropriate State funds based on the number of novice teachers employed each year by a district board of education. Boards of education are required to ensure that State funds appropriated for this program supplement, and not supplant, Federal, State, or local funds already devoted to planning and implementing a novice teacher mentor program. The code requires that boards ensure State funds are used for one or more of the following: • Stipends for mentor teachers. • Costs associated with release time. • Substitutes for mentor and novice teachers. • Professional development and training activities related to the program. If no state funds are available to pay the costs of mentoring fees, candidates who are required to complete a provisional period of teaching to obtain standard certification shall be responsible for payment of mentoring fees during the first provisional year. The employing school district may pay the cost of mentoring fees. The school district’s administrative office is required to oversee the payment of mentors. The code prohibits payments directly from provisional novice teacher to mentor. Code Requirements for Mentors The chief school administrator is required to oversee the mentor selection process and ensure that individual mentors of novice provisional teachers meet the following minimum requirements: • Holds an instructional certificate and, when possible, is certified in the subject area in which the novice provisional teacher is working. • Has at least three years of experience and has taught fulltime for at least two years within the last five years;. • Does not serve as the mentee’s direct supervisor nor conduct evaluations of teachers. • Demonstrates a record of success in the classroom. • Beginning academic year 2014-2015, all mentor teachers must have a summative rating of effective or better on the most recent summative evaluation(NJAC 6A:10.) If a summative evaluation rating is not yet available by the start of academic year 2014-2015, the mentor applicant shall have demonstrated a record of success in the classroom as measured by a rating of effective or better on the teacher practice instrument. • A mentor teacher applicant in a school or school district not required by the regulations to issue summative evaluations shall demonstrate at least one year of effective teaching on his or her most recent evaluation as determined by his or her supervisor.
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