Minnesota Mentor Program

Overview

We are excited to announce that the Minnesota Mentor Program (MMP) will continue during the 2023-2024 school year!

Tier 1, 2, and 3 teacher protégés who live in Minnesota or in a border state and teach in a Minnesota district, and also have a Minnesota license in any of the five areas listed below, are welcome to apply to MMP. Tier 4 teachers who work in remote areas of the state with few colleagues with low-incidence disability licensure are also welcome to apply.

MMP continues to provide research-based support to special educators who teach infants, children, and youth with low-incidence disabilities. These areas of low-incidence disabilities include Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Blind/Visually Impaired (B/VI), Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH), Developmental Cognitive Disabilities (DCD), and Physical/Health Disabilities (P/HD).

Unique Benefits of the Minnesota Mentor Program

• Protégés are matched with mentors who have experience in the same area of low-incidence disability licensure. Sometimes this pairing is within the same region or district, however, sometimes it’s between different regions.
• A mentor-protégé relationship can continue as long as needed to support the retention of teachers.
• Mentors often share disability-specific adaptations, IEP/evaluation tips, teaching methods and strategies, and how to individualize materials for student-specific needs, and other support. These resources expand what protégés learn in teacher preparation programs as well as those unique strategies specific to each field.

Please share the MMP information with teachers of ASD, B/VI, DCD, D/HH, and P/HD in your district or region.

2024-2025:  Separate Supervisor Recommendation online forms for protégés and mentors.

Protégé applicants must:

• Complete the 2024-2025 Protégé Application online form.
• Have approval from their direct supervisor. Supervisors must complete the 2024-25 Supervisor Recommendation for Protégés online form.
• Be available for a half-day MMP Virtual Workshop on Thursday, August 8, 2024, or able to watch the recording and meet with their mentor before the school year starts.

Mentor applicants must:

• Have approval from their direct supervisor. Supervisors must complete the Supervisor Recommendation for Prospective Mentors online form.
• Currently work in Minnesota as a licensed ASD, B/VI, DCD, D/HH, or P/HD teacher.
• Have at least 5 years of teaching experience in the licensure area.
• Be willing to connect with 1 or 2 protégés for a minimum of 12 times per year.
• Be available for a half-day MMP Virtual Workshop on Thursday, August 8, 2024, or able to watch the recording and meet with their protégé before the school year starts.
• Be available for a two-hour virtual mid-January mentor-only check-in workshop.
• Complete the 2024-2025 Mentor Application online form.

Contact Information

Ann Mayes, Minnesota Mentor Program Specialist
612-638-1527, ann.mayes@brightworksmn.org