The first few years of a career for public school educators are usually the most difficult. All at once, they’re learning to navigate the demands of administrators, new material, classroom management and working with parents. For teachers and ESPs who are among the few, or only, Black or Hispanic educators in a building, the feeling of isolation can be overwhelming.
Joe Zellner and other Retired members remember that feeling. Under a new member-led program, Retired educators of color, with varying professional backgrounds, have agreed to be mentors to new-career educators of color, to provide a sounding board for them if they encounter challenges in the workplace. The Retired Member – New Educator of Color Mentoring Program launched this fall.
Zellner, a Black teacher who retired in 2007 after a career at Concord-Carlisle High School, said he signed up as a mentor because he knew that even in a great school, in a great district, being a minority-race educator can be challenging. Zellner, a former social studies teacher, said he feels he can offer professional support to younger colleagues.
"What I intend to bring, and hope I can explain to others, is there is room on the other side. You can get through this," he said.
Although Zellner said Concord generally has had a good record of attracting Black and other minority-race or ethnicity educators, he would anecdotally hear after a few years that many had left their positions. After retiring, he worked for many years as a substitute teacher. "Retention is an issue," Zellner said.
While the idea for this program originally came from the Retired Members Committee, it is a joint collaboration with the RMC, the New Member Committee and the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee. For people seeking mentoring, it is open to educators of color within the first five years of their careers. Several recently retired members already have signed on to serve as mentors. New educators seeking a mentor are signing up, as well.
Under the program, the one-on-one sessions are designed to be in-person for the initial meeting, but later will take whatever form suits the individuals.
One of the primary goals is to help diversify the state’s teaching workforce by reducing turnover in districts. The Retired Members Committee started looking into a mentoring program after speaking individually with more than a dozen retired members of color, who had shared their own stories of having experienced racism or discrimination in the workplace.
This became an item for action for the RMC’s social and racial justice subcommittee, said Phyllis Neufeld, a member of the RMC, in part because of committee self-reflection. "We had not always been as welcoming a union to educators of color, and we want to be part of that change."
Having a professional mentor, outside their building, will allow new educators to share any frustrations they may have, and gain some insight. For mentor-retirees, the program gives them a professional outlet. "This is a really unique way to keep your hand in the profession and feel like you’re making a difference," Neufeld said.
Educators interested in being mentored or in participating as a mentor can send an email to [email protected] or visit massteacher.org/news/2024/09/mentorshipprogram for more information.
