Local Educators Part of Inaugural Wyoming Teacher-Mentor Corps

Local Educators Part of Inaugural Wyoming Teacher-Mentor Corps

Cynthia Porter (left) and Deb Jensen will take part in the inaugural Wyoming Teacher-Mentor Corps this summer aimed at improving teacher attrition rates in Wyoming.

ROCK SPRINGS — Rock Springs educators Cynthia Porter and Deb Jensen will be taking part in the very first Wyoming Teacher-Mentor Corps (WTMC) initiative designed to foster teacher excellence by creating a network of Wyoming educators who can provide expert support for emerging teachers.

The initiative was designed by the University of Wyoming College of Education and will work to address the growing attrition rate of teachers leaving the profession in Wyoming.

Assistant Professor of Education Research Mark Perkins says a recent survey shows 65 percent of teachers in Wyoming would currently leave their jobs if they could. With teacher attrition rates in Wyoming around 11 percent each year, the survey highlighted mental health, lack of teacher support and assessments as major reasons for leaving the field. 

Advertisement - Story continues below...

The WTMC will work to tackle each of those issues as new teachers complete their field experiences and enter the first and most challenging phase of their careers.

“Our high school needs to develop an in-house mentoring and coaching framework, as we will have nearly 20 percent new or moved staff next school year,” said Porter, an assistant principal at Rock Springs High School. “Partnering with UW is exactly what we need to capitalize on resources.”

“The teacher mentor process will give us the tools to build a robust, comprehensive mentoring and coaching framework for our school that will facilitate the needed culture shift from teacher-centered to student-centered,” she added.

The cohort of teacher mentors is starting the 18-month-long program on the UW campus in Laramie with a three-day Summer Mentor Institute.

The teacher mentors at UW will receive introductory training in the core competencies they will master in the WTMC. The teacher mentors will develop plans for mentoring early-career educators in their districts throughout the 2022-23 school year by the end of the institute.

“As a teacher, I also am always learning. I hope to improve my craft as a teacher through helping others evaluate what they are doing in the classroom,” said Jensen, a science teacher at RSHS. “I hope to bring what I learn back and help implement the things that will help Sweetwater County School District 1 improve how we help students prepare for their future.”

In addition to the Summer Mentor Institute this year, teacher mentors will participate in another institute in 2023. They also will participate in two fall retreats and one retreat in the spring.