You might know Anthony Ramos, the star of the film version of In the Heights. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he got fired from a performance, and Lin-Manuel Miranda hired him on the same day. He later played John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Broadway musical Hamilton. You might even recognize Anthony Ramos’ signature freckles from the acclaimed film; A Star is Born or commercials for Crown Royal liquor. 

His background is pretty impressive, but you know who is equally remarkable? His high school drama teacher – Sara Steinweiss. 

Sara is a natural mentor. She insisted Anthony audition for a high school play even though he barely did homework and helped him win a scholarship to The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, a private college conservatory for the performing arts. As a teacher, Sara encouraged him every step of the way while pushing him in a particular direction. She saw his potential as a performer and did what she could to support his passion. 

Their relationship blossomed over the years, and now they are best friends. Like Sara Steinweiss, many of you are mentoring while juggling your professional and personal obligations. Although your mentoring partnership won’t land you on network television or score you front row seats to a Broadway show, hopefully, it will be impactful and memorable like their relationship. Consider these tips as you develop your mentoring partnership:

Mentors do more than help with curriculum: Let’s face it. Courses are filled with elaborate lesson planning and working on group projects. Sure, you learn a thing or two about curriculum (or at least you hope), but no one teaches you how to get along with adults. In the weeks ahead, schedule time with your mentee to engage in honest feedback conversations. Rely on the work of Sheila Heen, co-author of Thanks for the Feedback, a book that teaches us how to turn evaluations and criticism into learning opportunities. 

Be a Filter for your Mentee:  Being an educator is overwhelming at times. The workload is increasingly stressful, and according to adoptaclassroom.org, an organization that aims to put supplies into the hands of students, teachers spent an average of $750 of their own money in the 2020/2021 school year. I support educators collaborating to alleviate the workload, but marketplace sites (I won’t name them) are designed with many inaccurate resources. Sure, each of these resources might look pretty and organized, but many lack substance and don’t meet the needs of your students. You can help by meeting with your mentee and discussing desired student outcomes. Next, focus on analyzing curricular resources together while thinking:

• Does this resource motivate students? 
• Are there opportunities for students to interact with others?
• Does this resource support deep learning? 

Hopefully, engaging in dialogue like this can help weed out inaccurate resources and empower educators to be more knowledgeable about our students’ materials. 

Put the P in PD: Help your mentee show up physically and mentally to professional learning sessions. It matters in your school community, and most of all, it matters for the well-being of students. Model how to come prepared to a meeting to record notes, ask questions, and reflect with colleagues. Get the most out of learning opportunities by scheduling time to process together when a session is over. Consider the following questions to guide a post conversation:

• What do I know about my students, and which strategies might benefit them?
• How might I go about putting these into action? Will students work independently? Collaboratively in partnerships or a club setting?
• What issues might arise, and what can I do about them? 
• How will I measure if the strategies are successful or not? How will I adjust my practice moving forward? 

How will you make a difference like Sara Steinweiss, leaders?