• To increase student achievement by improving teacher effectiveness and daily instruction.
• To retain capable new teachers by increasing new teacher satisfaction with their teaching experience.

The foundation of the Baltimore County Public Schools’ Blueprint for Progress is quality instruction to improve student achievement. The Teacher Mentor Program plays a significant role in promoting and analyzing teacher effectiveness in the classroom. Teacher mentors focus on effective instruction and the impact that instruction has on student success. The program specifically supports new teachers with full time teacher mentors providing intensive on-site assistance in the following areas:

• Instruction
• Assessment
• Classroom management
• Interpersonal communication
• Lesson observation and non-evaluative feedback
• Lesson plan development and unit plan development
• Resources for successful classroom instruction

Teacher mentors are instructional "generalists" who do not participate in the formal evaluation process though they observe instruction with administrators and are trained in giving instructional feedback. They are selected through a rigorous application process which includes a screening interview, references, and a writing sample. Selected teacher mentors become part of a pool of candidates from which principals of identified schools interview and choose a teacher mentor for their school.

Several criteria are used to identify schools for participation in the Teacher Mentor Program. The identification process includes the number of first and second year teachers, the percent of conditional teachers, student achievement data, and the percent of students receiving free and reduced meals.

Training for teacher mentors focuses on the components of effective instruction, planning observation/feedback, assessment, curriculum, technology, and classroom management.