OAR 581-018-0145: Grant Application: Beginning Teacher and Administrator Mentorship Program

Each district or educator network that wishes to participate in the beginning teacher and administrator mentorship program shall submit a formal application to the Department of Education on behalf of the Educator Advancement Council. The application shall include: (1) A description of the priorities to be addressed by moneys received by a school district or educator network for the mentorship program, including: (a) Efforts to increase the number of culturally and linguistically diverse educators hired; (b) Efforts to close the cultural and linguistic gap between the demographics of the students of the school district or school districts within the educator network and the demographics of the educators of the school district or school districts within the educator network; and (c) For the 2023-2025 biennium, efforts to develop educators who hold an endorsement related to special education, who serve in rural districts, or who are diverse as defined in ORS 342.433; and efforts to continue existing mentorship relationships. (2) The names of all eligible beginning teachers and administrators employed by the district or a school district within the educator network and a description of their assignments. (3) A description of the proposed mentorship program, which must provide at least 75-90 hours of frequent contact between mentors and beginning teachers and administrators, throughout the school year. (4) A description of the research based training that will be provided to mentors before the school year begins and throughout the school year, including: (a) How research and knowledge on the needs of beginning teachers or administrators informs the training curriculum; (b) How the training will build relationships of trust and mutual collaboration with beginning teachers and administrators; and(c) How the training supports mentors to meet the standards of a Quality Mentor Program described in OAR 581-018-0133. (5) A school district or educator network shall certify in the application that all participating beginning teachers have less than 2 years of experience in any state and have a non-provisional license from the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. This rule takes effect on July 1, 2025.