Teacher Mentoring Fellowship
FLENJ Mentoring Fellowship
The FLENJ Mentoring Fellowship is designed to support novice world language teachers over a three-year period and, in so doing, help develop leadership in New Jersey’s world language teaching community. FLENJ members with fewer than three (3) years of teaching experience are invited to apply to be mentees. Mentor applicants must also be FLENJ members and should generally have at least eight years of world language teaching experience. Applications are accepted throughout the school year for the following year, with a July 15 deadline. Acceptance letters go out in July and an initial meet-and-greet gathering is held in August during the FLENJ Summer Refresher.
Benefits for mentor fellows:
- Complimentary registration for FLENJ’s Annual Conference.
- Second- and third-year Fellows may attend a complimentary FLENJ workshop of their choice
- A free ACTFL publication to help guide and inform mentor-mentee discussions.
- A certificate of professional development hours
- Leadership experience as a mentor working with new world language educators
- Collaboration with a community of educators committed to enhancing world language instruction
- Opportunities to work closely with world languages leaders around the state
Benefits for mentee fellows:
- Complimentary registration for FLENJ’s Annual Conference
- Second- and third-year Fellows may attend a complimentary FLENJ workshop of their choice
- A free ACTFL publication to help guide and inform mentor-mentee discussions.
- A certificate of professional development hours, as documented in Fellows’ communication log
- Support, advice, coaching, and motivation from an experienced world language educator
- Collaboration with a community of educators committed to enhancing world language instruction
- Opportunities to work closely with world languages leaders around the state
Expectations
Fellows are asked to stay in regular touch and document their form and frequency of communication. In addition, four virtual meetings are held each year for all program participants, and informal gatherings take place during FLENJ professional development events.
For each of their three years, mentors will be encouraged to help their mentees focus on a distinct stage of teacher development: from building and maintaining a strong classroom culture in year one, to a deeper understanding of proficiency and the resulting implications for instruction in year two, to an emphasis on building on best practices in year three.
In most cases, mentors will be paired with a different mentee for each of their three years as a fellow. We believe this exposure to a variety of perspectives will enrich the learning opportunities for all participants.
If you are prepared to make a three-year commitment to mentoring an early-stage teacher or to partnering with a mentor who can support you in your professional growth, please consider applying to the FLENJ Mentoring Fellowship.
FLENJ may discontinue the membership of any Fellow who fails to meet the program requirements.