By Ross Coyle

Patti Billet suffered her first breakdown six weeks into her first teaching job after she had to write a detailed student improvement plan for her students at Kent Mountain View Academy.

“This is part of this profession that I have no idea about, I’m expected to know and I have no idea,” Billet said.

Billet found help in a colleague and finished the plans, but new teachers don’t always have a veteran to help them learn the ropes. That’s where Kent School District’s Teacher Mentor Program steps in.

The mentor program provides first and second year teachers with an experienced counterpart to help them through their first years. Whether it’s providing technical feedback on lessons and classroom management or giving emotional support to novice educators, mentors exist to ease a teacher’s integration into the district.

“Teaching is a unique profession where you’re expected to be a veteran on your first day,” said mentor Lynn Lofstrom.

Lofstrom, along with Kjell Rowe and Cynthia Huber make up the three person mentor team at Kent Mountain View. Lofstrom works with kindergarten through eighth grade teachers and Rowe works with high school teachers. Huber fills in where necessary.

“From the get-go, you have to be a professional, and it’s hard,” said Billet, who teaches sixth grade core classes and third grade math. “It’s a huge learning curve.”

Billet, 28, graduated from Cal Lutheran University in 2007 with a degree in liberal studies but had to wait until she and her husband had the finances for graduate school. While she spent most of her time between schools working with children, she said she was unprepared for the sheer amount of management that comes with heading a classroom.

“Your students are angels and want to please you, but once they figure out who you are, they start to test you,” Billet said.

Beyond meeting one-on-one with teachers, the mentors also host classes for teachers to improve their skills. After a particular class regarding getting students to participate even if they don’t know the answer, she felt her own classroom management skills improved.

Billet said that having an experienced voice to share her concerns with has been cathartic to her experience.

“Each time, whether I’m flustered or excited or I tell her things are going really great, she always says is there anything you want to talk about, how are things going with parents, she knows the right questions to ask. I can tell her exactly how I’m feeling,” Billet said.

The mentors provide more than just assistance for classroom management or educational processes. They’re a key emotional support for teachers to go to when they feel overwhelmed or need to talk.

This is how Leslie Shilleto felt when she first came to the district from Michigan. Being new to the school system, she was very isolated when it came to her failures and successes at Sunrise Elementary.

“I feel like when things go wrong you’re mad at yourself and when things go right you don’t have anybody to celebrate with,” Shilleto said.

Lofstrom provided her with a way to celebrate her successes and commiserate in her failures.

“I would have Lynn to share good things with, and she would be just as excited as I was,” Shilleto said. “And if I was upset about something she’d kind of talk me through it.”

Having a trusted friend in the district, someone who isn’t evaluating their performances professionally as a principal would, has been invaluable for many teachers. Lofstrom said it’s a very rewarding line of work.

“This is a fabulous job and what’s so exciting about it is we get to work with folks that are right out of a college program, they’re really excited about teaching and learning,”  Lofstrom said.