The First 180 Days:
A First-Year Teacher and Her Mentor
Kimberly Johnson, a recent graduate of the University of North Dakota (UND), is a first-year English teacher at Valley Middle School in Grand Forks, North Dakota. As one of three new teachers participating in the district's "Middle Level Resident Teacher Program," Kimberly is also pursuing a master's degree in education at UND.
Laurie Stenehjem, a graduate of North Dakota State University and a teacher with more than 25 years experience, is a mentor for the Grand Forks Middle School Resident Teacher Program. She also teaches a class at UND on exploring teaching and supervises student teachers. Laurie is Kimberly's mentor teacher at Valley Middle School.
Click here to go directly to Kimberly's first journal entry or here for Laurie's first notebook entry.
Do you have comments, questions, or advice for Laurie and Kim? Would you like to talk about your own experiences with mentoring? Share your thoughts on "The First 180 Days" message board.
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"The Middle Level Resident Teacher Program," Stenehjem told Education World, "is a joint project between Grand Forks Public Schools and the University of North Dakota. In the program, three fully certified first-year teachers have full-time responsibility for their own classrooms at Valley Middle School. At the same time, they take classes to earn a master's degree at UND. The new teachers are paid a stipend through the university, with money provided by the Grand Forks schools. They also receive tuition waivers from UND for most of their degree work. The teachers start their studies in June and are scheduled to graduate the following August. As part of the program, the first-year teachers work with a resident mentor at Valley Middle School and with a mentor from UND."
This year, in alternating weekly journal entries, Laurie and Kim will chronicle their experiences and share with Education World readers their individual thoughts and perspectives about teaching, learning, and mentoring! Whether you're a new teacher tackling your first classroom experience, a mentor charged with supporting and nurturing a fledgling educator, or simply an educator interested in the process and product of teacher training, you won't want to miss a word of their observations and insights!
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| About Kimberly Johnson |
About Laurie Stenehjem |
| August 30, 2001 |
September 6, 2001 |
| September 13, 2001 |
September 20, 2001 |
| September 27, 2001 |
October 4, 2001 |
| October 11, 2001 |
October 18, 2001 |
| October 25, 2001 |
November 1, 2001 |
| November 8, 2001 |
November 15, 2001 |
| November 29, 2001 |
December 6, 2001 |
| December 13, 2001 |
December 13, 2001 |
| January 3, 2002 |
January 10, 2002 |
| January 17, 2002 |
January 24, 2002 |
| January 31, 2002 |
February 7, 2002 |
| February 14, 2002 |
February 21, 2002 |
| February 28, 2002 |
March 7, 2002 |
| March 14, 2002 |
March 21, 2002 |
| March 28, 2002 |
April 4, 2002 |
| April 11, 2002 |
April 18, 2002 |
| April 25, 2002 |
May 2, 2002 |
| May 9, 2002 |
May 16, 2002 |
| May 23, 2002 |
June 13, 2002 |
| June 6, 2002 |
Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2002 Education World
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