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Mentors make a difference

By Thomas Manning and Suzanne Bouffard
Categories: Career pathways, Coaching, Continuous improvement, Facilitation, Learning designs, Mentoring & induction, Teacher leadership
December 2020
Vol. 41, No. 6
Middle school teacher Leighann Fields remembers her earliest teaching experiences with mixed emotions. “When I was student teaching, the teacher I worked with had been at the school forever, and she knew so much. But she didn’t share it with me. I had to reinvent the wheel while I was driving down the road.” Frequently criticized but rarely supported, Fields says she decided that she would be a different kind of teacher and a different kind of mentor if she got the chance. Now, 16 years later, Fields is getting that chance as a mentor teacher in Eunice, Louisiana. Recognizing the need to more effectively support and retain new teachers in the state, the Louisiana Department of Education launched its nationally recognized Believe and Prepare

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Tom Manning
+ posts

Tom Manning is an education consultant and former Senior Vice President of Professional Services for Learning Forward. For Learning Forward, he led the strategy, management, and business development for consulting and technical assistance services. He advanced Learning Forward’s vision by establishing and maintaining professional service partnerships with states, districts, and schools, and managed a cadre of more than 40 education consultants working across North America. He previously served as Learning Forward’s Associate Director of E-Learning, leading the design and implementation of the association’s online courses, webinars, and virtual learning communities. Prior to joining Learning Forward in 2009, he covered education as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman. He authored a chapter in the book Powerful Designs for Professional Learning (3rd ed.), and has been published in the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership. Originally from Boston, Tom received a Bachelor of Arts in English and journalism from Texas Christian University.

Suzanne Bouffard
Senior Vice President, Communications & Publications | + posts

Suzanne Bouffard is senior vice president of communications and publications at Learning Forward. She is the editor of The Learning Professional, Learning Forward’s flagship publication. She also contributes to the Learning Forward blog and webinars. With a background in child development, she has a passion for making research and best practices accessible to educators, policymakers, and families. She has written for many national publications including The New York Times and the Atlantic, and previously worked as a writer and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Duke University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. She loves working with authors to help them develop their ideas and voices for publication.


Categories: Career pathways, Coaching, Continuous improvement, Facilitation, Learning designs, Mentoring & induction, Teacher leadership

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