Today, I have the amazing opportunity to take time to be a learner, reflect on my own practice, and set goals for my future as an educator leader. While participating in the New Teacher Center's Mentor Academy 8, we are taking the time to think of our Mentor Success stories. This year has been an eventful, unpredictable series of obstacles. Despite the adventures that all of us educators have survived, I still fundamentally believe that training, supporting, mentoring, and coaching new teachers is crucial to our country's future. Here is my mentor story explaining why...

*A garage door in Albany Park, close up.*

The important thing about new teacher induction is that it leads to student growth and student success.

When new teachers plan and reflect with mentors, students are actively engaged in lessons designed to support a gradual release of responsibilities, have opportunities to choose learning based on their needs, interests, learning styles, and strengths, participate in lessons that value all cultures and learn more about their own.

When new teachers re-norm their classroom environments with mentors, students become part of an environment that values their social and emotional needs and that is filled with positive and firm standards and language that support learning.

When new teachers implement new instructional strategies with mentor support, students ask and answer high level questions, give feedback to each other, read complex texts, investigate real issues, use technology to learn, produce, and share, and "solve" the world's problems collaboratively.

When new teachers analyze student work with mentors, students receive strategic support based on their needs, are able to see learning as a set of challenges, have multiple opportunities to show different kinds of understanding, and set learning goals.

When new teachers collaborate with mentors to become professionals, students view teachers as roles models for learning, have parents and community members who communicate and work with their teacher, and experience school from a person passionate about learning.