FirstLine Celebrates First Cohort of Mentor Teachers

FirstLine Schools honored their first cohort of mentor teachers at the end of this school year. The nine FirstLine teachers were selected to participate in the program, which is designed to develop strong teachers into mentors who can support young and/or new teachers as they enter FirstLine Schools.  

“Coaching teachers to get better is a different skill set than teaching students,” said Scott Shirey executive director of leadership development at FirstLine Schools. “Our Mentor Teacher Program allows great teachers to stay in the classroom and get some leadership experience.”

The Mentor Teacher program was developed during the 2019-2020 school year in preparation for the 2020-2021 school year. The program has already opened up applications for next year’s cohort. “Mentor teachers are known to be some of the best teachers across FirstLine,” said Shirey. “We think it is critical that new teachers have supportive models who can teach them what it means to be a great FirstLine teacher. We also want great teachers to be able to expand their influence without having to leave the classroom and their students. Ultimately, it would be nice to have a mix of mentors who stay in the classroom and some who eventually decide to move into administration as both roles are necessary in great schools.” 

This year’s mentor teachers were an incredible group of individuals full of resilience and flexibility. They had the dual challenge of navigating virtual and in-person instruction through the pandemic while being an inaugural class full of firsts. Congratulations to this year’s cohort of mentor teachers:

2021 Mentor Teacher Cohort

Lydia Chipman, Green

Triege’ Cotton, LHA

Areonne Howard, Wheatley

La’Kandice Johnson, LHA

Tamekia Johnson Dover, Ashe

Amy Sutter Lewis, Wheatley

Patricia Onyejekwe, Green

Kellie Richardson, Ashe

Tess Williams, Ashe