As our profession evolves, one truth remains as front and center today as it did in the days of Lowell Mason: Music teachers need community. As a music supervisor for over twenty years, I have seen firsthand the power of mentor/mentee relationships in the workplace. It is crucial that teachers new to the music education profession, especially those in the first five years, have access to professional mentorship models that bring relevance and productivity to their work lives!
In 2023, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) published A Blueprint for Strengthening the Music Teacher Profession (Blueprint). NAfME’s Blueprint created a new focus upon effective mentorship, with analysis of what works and what may be less effective. 
Significant work has been done in building Mentorship Programs by State Music Educator Association (MEAs) within NAfME. While serving as the President of the California Music Educators Association (CMEA) a decade ago, our work focused upon building a first-ever Mentorship Program for our members. Mark Nicholson, then Music Supervisor with the San Diego Unified School District, worked diligently to recruit mentor teachers, bring mentees into the fold, and evaluate the effectiveness of our work over time. Recalling the challenges we first encountered, geography was at the forefront. Did mentees in Southern California need a mentor in their local community, or someone farther away. What did mentors need to have success? Were senior teachers necessarily the best mentors for young teachers? How could we ensure mentors were qualified and would successfully support each mentee?
The CMEA Mentorship Program has had many successes over the last decade. We learned to be agile, provide mentees with what they asked for, and support this work with greater clarity. State MEAs play a crucial role in providing mentor teacher support to those music teachers in the first years and beyond.
The NAfME Blueprint provides much practical guidance in mentorship. “Partners in the mentorship process can be local or as national as desired or needed.” Today, technology makes it possible for new teachers to have mentors in their local communities and beyond. Teachers can schedule virtual conversations across the nation or meet at a local coffee shop.
Having served as a program leader for many years, experience taught me that pairing a mentor teacher relatively new to the profession with a new music teacher may be more effective than assigning a veteran teacher. Those of us with 30+ years of service in the profession have different perspectives than teachers in their first few years. Sometimes, a relationship with a “similar-experience” peer can be a better fit for the new professional music educator.
An example of a “similar-experience” mentor-mentee relationship is that of two teachers I have worked with in the Bakersfield City School District. Mentor Daniele Amani and Mentee Natalie Hensley are a mentor-mentee success story! Although Mrs. Amani had not taught for very many years when she expressed interest in becoming a mentor teacher, I immediately supported this idea. As Mrs. Amani’s music supervisor, I had seen her success in the classroom during her formative first years. She was extremely motivating to her young elementary music students, providing structure and systems to help students learn to play their instruments at a high level. I requested that Mrs. Amani be assigned Mrs. Hensley as her first mentee. During the first few months of the school year, while visiting Mrs. Hensley’s classroom, it was clear to me this pairing was working! Mrs. Amani provided confidential training and support that resulted in Mrs. Hensley becoming a successful first-year teacher. Instructional pacing, a strength of Mentor Amani, was being replicated in Mentee Hensley’s classroom. It also became clear that both mentor and mentee were growing from the experience. Ultimately, students were benefiting from this success. Mentee Hensley experienced growth because her mentor was relatable, committed, and supportive. Mrs. Amani and Mrs. Hensley remain professional colleagues and friends today!
Lastly, what is the role of the music supervisor or program leader in ensuring new music teacher success? While viewed as a mentor, we often fill the role of “supervisor” or evaluator, which changes the dynamic of the mentor-mentee relationship. I have found it is important to provide the points of support each mentee may need, especially when the mentee may not know what support is available. For example, if a new teacher struggles with classroom management, we may provide release time and substitute coverage to send the teacher to observe a teacher with strength in that area. If curriculum is not aligned with the Scope and Sequence of the Program, then an academic coach or instructional specialist might need to be assigned to meet with the new teacher. If there are relationship issues with principals, we can often give advice and sometimes intervene to strengthen and build those professional relationships. When providing instructional feedback, all communication must be purposeful and growth-focused. We can encourage or destroy the self-esteem of a new teacher. Careful, honest, and empathetic communication must take place to guide the new teacher in the formative first years in the profession. My motto is “There are no problems, only solutions.” Problem solving is the best way to support new teachers through their first years of teaching.
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