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Office of Teaching Initiatives

Certification

Mentoring Requirement

"Mentored experience" refers to the guidance and professional support that experienced, certified educators provide to new educators in their first year of employment in a public school.

To received Professional certification, classroom teachers and school building leaders must complete the mentoring requirement. The mentoring requirement must be verified by the superintendent of the employing school district through the .

Certificate Holders Who Must Complete Mentoring

  • Classroom Teachers:ÌýTeachers holding a Conditional Initial, Initial, Internship, Transitional B, or Transitional C certificate must be mentored in their first year of teaching or must have successfully completed two years of teaching experience prior to such teaching in the public schools. For teachers who hold more than one Initial classroom teaching certificate, only one mentored experience must be completed to fulfill the mentoring requirement for their Professional certificate(s).
  • School Building Leader Certificate Holders:ÌýEducators must participate in a mentored program in the first year of employment in the educational leadership service or must have successfully completed two years of educational leadership service prior to such public school service.

The Office of Teaching Initiatives will review mentoring that was completed during the life of the Initial certificate if the mentoring was not received in the first year.

Mentored experience (NYS public school/BOCES)

Mentored experience that was completed in a NYS public school district or BOCES must be submitted electronically by the district. Contact the district office and ask that they enter an electronic Superintendent Statement (Verification of Mentoring) on your TEACH account verifying completion of this requirement. Once a statement has been entered, you will be able to view it (Account Information page, Superintendent Statements section). Alternatively, this requirement may be waived upon verification of 2+ years of acceptable teaching experience from an approved employer that is not a NYS public school district (Private/Charter schools) or BOCES. This requirement will be re-evaluated upon the submission of acceptable work experience.

NYC Public Schools

If you were mentored in a 51³Ô¹ÏÍø City Public School during one of the first two years under your Initial Classroom Teaching Certificate, then contact mentorverification@schools.nyc.gov or MTSsupport@schools.nyc.gov to have the mentored experience statement placed into TEACH

Chart - Am I Obligated to Complete the Mentored Requirement?
If you are employed in a public school and in your first year of teaching with an Initial certificate You must have mentoring in your first year of teaching
If you taught in a non-public school (private or parochial) in the first year of your Initial certificate, and are now employed in a public school in the second year of teaching You must have mentoring in your first year of teaching at theÌýpublic school
If you taught in a public school, but not in NYS, in the first year you held the Initial certificate, and then taught in a NYS public school in the second year

You must have mentoring in your first year of teaching in theÌýNYS public school
If you taught in a parochial or private school in the firstÌýandÌýsecond year of your Initial certificate You are not obligated to complete a mentored experience for the Professional certificate
If you taught in a parochial or private school for at least 2 yearsÌýpriorÌý³Ù´ÇÌýreceivingÌýyour Initial certificate You are not obligated to complete a mentored experience for the Professional certificate
If you taught in a public school with a valid teaching certificate in another state for at least two years prior to receiving your NYS teaching certificate You are not obligated to complete a mentored experience for the Professional certificate
If you taught in a public school with a valid teaching certificate in another state, had less than two years mentored experience in that public school You are not obligated to complete a mentored experience for the Professional certificate
If you haveÌýnotÌýtaught at all in aÌýpublic schoolÌýduring the validity period of your Initial certificate You are not obligated to complete a mentored experience for the Professional certificate

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