FIRST Handbook

F.I.R.S.T. 2021-2022 | NEW EMPLOYEE MENTORING HANDBOOK

Introduction 1 Welcome to the team! The IT F.I.R.S.T. mentoring initiative is designed to support new employees during their first year in the Greenville County Schools Instructional Technology department. Based on the belief that each employee brings unique strengths and contributions to the work environment, this mentoring model is designed as team mentoring as opposed to one-on-one mentoring or executive coaching. The mission of team mentoring is to provide a variety of opportunities for employees to contribute to the development of new employees by sharing resources, expertise, values, skills, perspectives, and attitudes.

More and more 2 organizations are creating Program Goals formal mentoring programs for various reasons. From increased morale to increased organizational productivity and career development, the benefits of an organization that supports mentoring are numerous. Because mentoring benefits both the department and the new employee, the goals of IT F.I.R.S.T. can be delineated into two categories - department goals and mentee goals.

Two Types of Program Goals 3 Department Goals TEACHERS GROWING TEACHERS objectives that impact the department and district Mentee Goals objectives that support the new employee

TEACHERS GROWING TEACHERS Department Goals 4 Skill/knowledge enhancement – mentoring enables experienced staff to pass on their expertise to others who need to acquire specific skills Staff retention – mentoring provides an encouraging environment through ongoing interactions, coaching, teaching, and role-modeling that facilitates loyalty to and within an organization Increased morale – mentoring creates authentic connections among staff members which lead to an increase in staff confidence Organizational development – mentoring provides a means to communicate the values, vision, and mission of the department

Mentee Goals The F.I.R.S.T process is designed to formally support the new employee’s transition into the department from the first day on the job throughout the first year of employment. At the end of an employee’s first year, the ultimate goal is for the employee to affirm the following statements: 1.I understand the procedures for accessing and completing 5 required paperwork such as leave forms, mileage reimbursements, Outlook calendar, and Lawson Kronos. 2.I can articulate the strengths of each team member in the department. TEACHERS GROWING TEACHERS 3.I understand my role in the school setting with teachers and administrators. 4.I understand the employee performance evaluation system and what is expected in order to be successful in that process. 5.I can state the mission of the IT department in a single sentence. 6.I have created a core set of training sessions that are effective and engaging. 7.I am consistently utilizing a process to evaluate both short-term and long-term professional development in order to improve my skills. 8.I can identify my major contributions to the department – I understand how I “fit in.” 9.I feel comfortable collaborating with school leadership to conduct needs assessments, identify long-range goals, and develop effective professional development plans. 10.I can identify the T.O.P technologies and demonstrate the best ways to integrate them into classroom instruction. 11.I feel confident providing various options for standards-based lessons. 12.I understand the importance of Title I and the meaning of a Title I school. (Title I positions only)

TEACHERS GROWING TEACHERS6 Together, we thrive The IT F.I.R.S.T initiative incorporates five research-based components which positively impact employee performance and retention. Focus Groups Incorporation Reflection Shadowing Training Development

7 Reflections Our Means for A major component of F.I.R.S.T. will be the Mentoring formal reflection process. Each new employee will be asked to review a variety of Focus Groups data including feedback from training sessions to improve his or her practice. Each During the F.I.R.S.T. year, each new month for the first year, mentees will be employee will meet with his or her mentor asked to share reflections formally or and other new employees to focus on issues informally with the mentor. and concerns related to job responsibilities, department functions, etc. In addition, Focus Shadowing Groups will provide the team an opportunity to develop and share information from each Because F.I.R.S.T. is designed to reflect a team of the other four components: approach to mentoring, each new employee incorporation, reflections, shadowing, and will be provided formal opportunities to meet training development. Focus Groups will with and interview each IT staff member meet using the following schedule. during the first year. The goal of each interview will be to develop relationships August – December: Bi-weekly among the team and to identify the areas of January – June: Monthly responsibilities and strengths of other team members firsthand. Incorporation Training Development Perhaps one of the greatest challenges of a new position is assimilating into a new Whether large groups, small groups, or one- environment. As part of the F.I.R.S.T on-one, the primary job responsibility of a mentoring program, each new employee will Technology Facilitator is training. Training that participate in a variety of activities designed is offered from the IT department should be to increase his or her familiarity with the professional, engaging, and effective. The people and processes that directly impact training component of F.I.R.S.T. gives new Instructional Technology. Incorporation employees the opportunity to observe other activities will be assigned by the mentor or facilitators, plan with other staff members, supervisor and may include opportunities to and receive feedback from the mentor or attend district-level meetings, shadow school other staff member in order to continuously personnel, participate in district committees, improve his or her skills and the overall etc. quality of IT training.

Schedule Overview 8 Focus Group Meetings TEACHERS GROWING TEACHERS Bi-weekly (August - December), Monthly (January - June) Staff mentor, all new employees; staff mentor will schedule Interviews (7) August - March New employee should schedule with other employees – one per month Reflection Meeting Monthly (August – June) New employee should schedule with mentor