You know how important it is to build strong relationships with students, and it’s just as important for mentors to build that trust and rapport with teachers. Today, hosts Kathleen and Paula talk with Treva Jenkins from Maricopa Unified School District about how to build those strong relationships with new teachers to best support their growth and confidence in the classroom.

Jenkins, a beginning teacher mentor who also teaches a class of students, shares how she prioritizes relationship-building and listening in her first year of mentoring a teacher. She notes how important it was for her to find a veteran mentor to support her work as a mentor and encourages other mentors to do the same.

Jenkins also explains how she prioritized continuing to teach a class that can double as a clinic for beginning teachers to visit and watch Jenkins teach and interact with students. She emphasizes how active listening is often the most powerful thing a mentor can provide a new teacher.

Consider enhancing your mentoring and coaching skills with one of these upcoming events at the Arizona K12 Center:

• Supporting a System of Growth, Feedback, and Accountability: An Experience for Instructional Coaches and Instructional Mentors at azk12.org/SystemofGrowth
• Arizona New Teacher Induction Network Meeting at azk12.org/AZNTIN

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.