MUSD awarded $255,000 mentoring grant

The Maricopa Unified School District received a $255,000 grant from the Arizona K12 Center in March to pay for three half-time master teachers to mentor 21 beginning teachers at its middle and secondary schools.

The Arizona K12 Center provides professional development for Arizona teachers and is part of Northern Arizona University, said Kathy Wiebke, the center’s executive director.

The funding will be spread over the next three years: $100,000 the first year, $80,000 the second and $75,000 the third.

Krista Roden, district director of teaching and learning, said the grant process was very competitive. MUSD was the only district in the state this year to receive a new grant. The other awards went to districts that previously received a grant.

“We’re excited to have the additional support,” Roden said. “We have a strong (academic coaching) foundation at the elementary schools. This grant will help support our new teachers at the secondary level.”

A mentoring program is important for a variety of reasons, she said. The intensity of the new Common Core standards demand more from teachers in the areas of assessment and performance accountability.

“Teachers that aren’t mentored are more likely to burn out and leave the teaching profession,” she said. “Research shows teachers that are mentored and supported are more likely to stay in the field of teaching.”

She said mentoring provides teachers with additional support for their academic teaching. The program also helps teachers learn how to better control or manage their classroom, work with diverse populations of students and with those who have health impairments.

Wiebke said MUSD was selected because it is committed to mentoring its teachers, both beginners and the more experienced.

Also, the district has a plan for “sustaining (the program) after the money goes away,” she said, adding the district can apply for additional grants in the future.

***ADVERTISEMENT*** Another factor in the selection process was MUSD has a large number of National Board Certified Teachers and “there appears to be a broad base of support” from the teachers, the governing board, the district schools and administration.

The grant will also fund stipends for the AZ Master Teachers mentors, mentor and beginning teacher training through the Arizona K12 Center and support for teachers going through the National Board and master teachers process, according to a power point presentation to the governing board last week.

Roden said MUSD has a “perfect population” for a mentoring program because it attracts a large number of new teachers. The district generally has an annual turnover rate in the 33 percent range so it hires from 60 to 100 new to the district beginner or experienced teachers every year. Experienced teachers new to the district also receive mentoring.

The high turnover rate is in part because a number of less experienced teachers apply for jobs at MUSD, although they have to commute from metro Phoenix, she said. When they have more experience, they apply for jobs in the Valley. This is normal for many smaller towns near large metropolitan districts.

She said the district’s elementary school academic coaches are funded though Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The coaches spend 80 percent of their day in the classroom supporting teachers’ academic and management needs.