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.