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Job Title: TLRN University Mentor

Working Title: University Mentor, U Mentor

Application: Click here

Job Description

TLRN University Mentors, “U Mentors,” are assigned to clinical teacher interns who are in their clinical year of the teacher education program. U Mentors provide support in the form of feedback, resources to deepen their knowledge and skills, and liaise with cooperating teachers, seminar faculty, and MSU colleagues to ensure interns have a network of support as they develop their ability to be ready to teach. They attend annual Clinical Prep Week events in order to prepare for the upcoming academic year. U Mentors also are provided opportunities to attend monthly meetings, University events, and technology training sessions.

For Academic Year ’22-’23, the goal is for mentors to be observing in person in the classrooms. Mentors should expect to meet the requirements of the schools, such as proof of COVID vaccination and/or testing, and COVID surveys/forms prior to observations. Mentors will determine observation formats with the intern and cooperating teacher.

TLRN University Mentors observe and mentor interns over the course of the clinical year. One full intern assignment involves mentor supervision of intern teachers in their field placements six (6) times during the semester or year depending on the program. University Mentors are expected to communicate with cooperating teachers before, during, or after each observation. Mentors complete six formal progress reports and a summary report for each intern in the MSU-issued platforms. This is currently calculated as thirteen (13) hours of work; six (6) hours for supervision and four (7) hours for reports.

Requirements

As per NJ DOE’s state code, 6A:9A-4.4 Clinical component and candidate supervision for CEAS educator preparation programs:

• Have had experience supervising, consulting, or otherwise working in an elementary and/or secondary school in contact with classroom teachers within the previous two years for all instructional certificate programs with the exception of the preschool endorsement; for preschool programs, the supervisor shall have had experience supervising, consulting, or otherwise working in an early childhood setting.
• Demonstrated expertise in the field the U Mentor is supervising.

U Mentor Programs & Compensation for Academic Year ‘22-’23

1. P‐3/K‐6 – Clinical II
   • Includes both undergraduate and graduate interns
   • 6 observations per intern assigned during their Clinical II semester
   • Stipend of $466.30 per assignment

2.  P‐12/Subject Area – Yearlong

• Includes both undergraduate and graduate interns
• Per intern, 2 observations in Clinical I, 4 observations in Clinical II
• Payment:
  • $77 per assignment during Clinical I
  • $53 per assignment during Clinical II

Assignments

The total number of interns assigned per semester depends on enrollment numbers, certification and concentration areas of interns, and the number of interns a mentor elects to be assigned. Further, mentor pairing is done concurrently with the onset of a future semester, and may be subject to change.

Retirement & benefits

• For public school Teachers/Administrators regarding retirement benefits:
  • Please be reassured that your benefits are not in jeopardy by serving as an education mentor for Montclair State University, as the University operates under a different benefits system. State officials have confirmed your security regarding this matter to us in writing. You can learn more about this by viewing the state Pension Department Web site Fact Sheet #28, where it says:

●        Returning to work in a position covered by a different NJ State‐administered retirement system:

• In this case, your retirement allowance continues and you can receive a salary but you cannot become a member of that retirement system.

●        Further questions should be directed to MSU’s HR Benefits

• • https://www.montclair.edu/human‐resources/benefits/

U Mentor Commitment to the TLRN Mission

U Mentors serve as representatives of the MSU Teacher Education Program and reflect the TLRN mission:

The Department of Teaching and Learning is committed to preparing educators to work toward equity and justice in a range of education settings, and against the exploitation, exclusion, and marginalization of humans. We aim to do so by combining well‐informed educational approaches and teaching strategies with critical examination of relevant sociopolitical contexts. Thus, we are committed to helping current and future teachers as they engage in well‐informed ways of thinking about their worlds. Our hope is that this will enable them to make sense of, and take action in, complex social moments and settings. This includes respecting the perspectives and experiences of students, teachers and community members who may identify themselves in any variety of ways. In addition, we recognize that thoughtful educational praxis requires thinking and action at multiple levels: individual, communal, and systemic. We are dedicated to helping teachers as they make meaningful connections between classroom practice, theories and research, educational policy, and the sociopolitical contexts within which individuals and groups exist.

U Mentors agree to advocate for, model, and engage the tenets of the TLRN mission through their work with interns. These tenets are evidenced in the Portrait of a Teacher that informs the teacher preparation programming at MSU.

MSU Portrait of a Teacher

Montclair State University is committed to the creation and development of teachers who strive to exemplify the knowledge, skills and dispositions required for excellence in teaching.

The centerpiece of our work is a document called the Portrait of a Teacher, which, through a series of statements, embodies Montclair State University’s vision of an educator and informs the evaluation of candidates to the teacher education program, the assessment of student teaching, and the professional development of our community of teachers.

Montclair State University envisions teachers who:

1.  Have expert knowledge of subject area content and relevant pedagogy:

• Have a deep understanding of the major concepts and principles of the disciplines they teach.
• Have extensive knowledge of the research, teaching methodologies, technologies, core learning standards, and resources specific to those disciplines
• Possess broad‐based knowledge within and across the liberal arts to situate their teaching in current and historical global contexts
• Demonstrate exemplary literacy and communication skills; can speak and write English fluently and communicate clearly and appropriately

2. Understand learning and development as complex processes that take place across the lifespan:
   • Understand how children, adolescents and adults learn and develop in a variety of school, family and community contexts
   • Know, evaluate and apply relevant theories of learning to teaching practice
   • Take initiative to know each student as a unique individual who brings varied backgrounds, strengths, needs, and perspectives to learning

3. Apply knowledge of learners, disciplinary content, pedagogy, and assessment to teach effectively:
   • Provide culturally and linguistically responsive instruction that respects diversity of ability, age, class, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, and sexual orientationto support the academic achievement of all students
   • Plan and implement rigorous instruction that engages all students in meaningful and challenging learning
   • Promote creative thinking, critical thinking, and critical consciousness within and beyond the classroom
   • Create curriculum, instruction, materials and assessments that are universally designed and accessible to support the intellectual, social and personal development of all students
   • Use multiple forms of assessment to measure and evaluate impact on student learning, achievement and progress, and to inform instruction

4.  Create democratic learning communities that are engaging, caring, respectful, and inclusive:

• Model attitudes, values and behaviors that promote democratic practice and participation in the classroom
• Create supportive and empathetic learning environments that are safe spaces conducive to learning
• Facilitate learning through effective, shared classroom management

5. Embrace leadership roles to create collaborative partnerships with school colleagues, families, and agencies in the community to support students’ learning and well‐being:
   • Join with other school professionals to plan and implement strategies that meet the needs of all learners
   • Consistently communicate and work with families to establish shared expectations for students and to engage families in the school community
   • Seek and use resources available through community and local institutions to actively build partnerships that enhance instruction and learning

6.  Demonstrate dispositions critical to the teaching profession:

• Believe that all children can learn and should have equitable access to knowledge
• Are reflective practitioners who remain active in the profession, and continually inquire into the nature of teaching and learning to improve their teaching practice
• Advocate for students and for educational policies that support best practice
• Demonstrate integrity, honesty and understanding of professional ethics, roles and responsibilities
• Demonstrate passion for teaching, lifelong learning, and commitment to the mentoring of future teachers

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Dr. Carla Shalaby

Author of Troublemakers: Lessons in Freedom from Young Children at School

with DJ Justis 

and featuring Poet Florence Faison

Thursday, February 24 at 6:00 p.m. EST via Zoom

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If classroom management is a curriculum – a series of lessons students learn from us – this talk invites us to ask: what do we teach now through our classroom management, and what we might want to teach instead? We will consider the troubling relationships between traditional classroom management approaches and carcerality, and begin to wonder how intentionally shifting our models of power and authority in the classroom might instead support the teaching and learning of freedom. By seeing our troublemakers as a resource to leverage instead of a problem to solve, this talk invites us to imagine classrooms as a space in which we might practice the world we want by rejecting disposability in favor of the struggle for love, justice, care, and healing. Purchase the book here.

This event is free and open to the public. ASL interpretation and live transcription will be provided.

The Transformative Education Network (TEN) at Montclair State University prepares, supports and develops teachers who teach toward antiracism and social justice. A part of TEN, the Critical Urban Education (CUE) Speaker Series is a bi-annual event bringing leading national scholars to Montclair State University. CUE provides a forum to develop attendees’ racial and political analysis through a series of lectures and workshops focused on social and cultural issues influencing urban schools and communities. Learn more and watch previous talks here.

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