Letter to Onsite Mentor
Dear Directors /School Administrators, This letter aims to inform you that one of your current teachers is enrolled in the Early Childhood Education Accelerated Program at National Louis University. Based on the state licensure requirements, the teacher candidate will need to secure an onsite mentor who holds a PEL, an ECE Level 5 Credential, and has three years of experience at the candidate’s current teaching site; has received a minimum of “proficient” rating in his/her most recent performance evaluation. Given that the teacher candidate for licensure has relatively rich field experiences and holds a lead teacher role in classroom, the mentoring in this accelerated program is different from a traditional program that trains novice teachers, but rather focuses on emotional support as the candidate goes through an intense license program while working full time. The mentoring can cover topics related but not limited to mental health, life and work balance, time management, relationship building with families, peers, and administrators, career development, and high- leverage teaching practices. The mentor is expected to meet with the candidate at least 5 times over the course of this one- year program (one in fall; two in the winter; and two in spring). Each meeting should be no less than one hour. The candidate is required to briefly document the meetings (see template on next page), and the mentor’s signature is needed. The mentor will also need to fill in a Competency Appraisal assessment of the candidate at the third term (student teaching term), and observe one lesson each term. In addition to onsite mentoring, the candidate will be assigned a field supervisor by the university. It is encouraged that the mentor, supervisor, and the candidate have one joint meeting, ideally at the outset of this experience. To express our appreciation of the mentor support, mentor teachers who host a NLU teacher candidate can earn up to 30 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDU) and receive a NLU course voucher to waive two hours of tuition for either an on-campus or a professional development graduate level course (excluding the Illinois Resource Center). We would greatly appreciate your support of teacher candidate in securing a site-based mentor, and providing the necessary accommodations for their required meetings. Sincerely, Xiaoli Wen, Faculty & Co-Chair; Xiaoli.wen@nl.edu Ayn Keneman, Faculty & Co-Chair; AKeneman@nl.edu Emily Hoffman, Faculty & Seminar Leader; ehoffman11@nl.edu Lisa Mozer, Director of Field Experience & PK-12 Partnerships; Lisa.Mozer@nl.edu
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