Mentoring Tomorrow's Education Leaders

Congratulations and thank you. 

You are about to embark on a journey with a Drake graduate student that will forever change not only their life, not only the lives of countless teachers and students and parents and employers and communities, but your life as well.

Your time, experience, knowledge, and support will help immerse education leadership candidates in real-world experiences and thoughtful reflection that will prepare tomorrow’s school administrators to lead from day one. 

Clinical Experience and Your Role

A rich clinical experience begins as soon as a student enters one of Drake’s education leadership programs, with multiple hands-on experiences embedded in the coursework. Each student works with experts/critical friends during field-based learning experiences, and have the added benefit of the support of a mentor throughout the duration of their two-year study.

As mentor, you will serve as a guide during the program experience, often acting as a “broker”—assisting students in locating and learning from additional positive role models in the field. You will be an encourager, challenger of ideas, and reflective coach. In collaboration with the student’s academic advisor, you will serve to solidify the student’s experiences in the program and be a sounding board for questions or concerns that arise through courses and field-based experiences.

As a mentor, you are expected to:

• Converse with the program advisor to learn about the program and expectations for the candidate.
• Commit the time necessary to support the student and, when appropriate, provide authentic learning experiences.
• Engage in feedback sessions with the student to foster growth and learning. 

First Steps

• Review training materials
  • IowaLeadership Websites & Resources
    • School Administrators of Iowa
    • Iowa Association of School Boards
    • Iowa School Finance Information Services
    • Iowa Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
  • Mentoring Websites & Resources
    • SAI Mentoring Program
    • Mentoring Matters Website
    • Leader Mentoring
    • Mentoring Modules
    • Mentoring Next-Generation Leaders
  • Mentoring Research
    • Building and Mentoring New Leaders
    • Good Principals Aren't Born They're Mentored
    • Mentoring and School Leadership
    • School Leadership That Works

• Review the Mentor Handbook
  • Education Leadership Clinical Handbook
  • Specialist Mentor Handbook

Ongoing

A student’s clinical professor will maintain contact with you for formative evaluation discussions as needed during each semester. 

Conclusion

At the end of your student’s clinical experience, you will share with the clinical professor your summative evaluation comments using the Mentor Impressions/Appraisal form located in the Mentor Handbook.    

Complete Mentoring Form