Describes Dade County (Florida) Public Schools' evaluation of its 1991-92 Professional Orientation Program. Generally, the program's major components were being implemented appropriately. Beginning teachers were favorably impressed with the support teams and the program itself, except for the training videotapes and enrollment paperwork. The…

This digest describes teacher mentoring and its different applications. A list of 10 characteristics and activities inherent in any mentor-protege relationship is provided. A discussion is presented on the ways that mentoring, an essentally informal process, has been formalized in business firms and school systems. In considering the benefits that…

This paper draws from a case study of first year district implementation of the California Mentor Teacher Program in one of the largest districts in California. The paper focuses on the opportunities offered to teachers who work with mentors. Through the presentation of a selection of vignettes of teachers who worked with mentors, the paper…

Several years ago the author attended a week-long orientation for a new job she was taking as an English teacher in an affluent suburb of Chicago. On the first day, the school's director of student activities led all of the new teachers in an "icebreaker," wherein they were taught how to juggle. However, the author could not juggle. When it was…