PRE-K TEACHER SELECTED FOR STATE MENTORING PROGRAM

From staff reports

Pre-kindergarten teacher Leslie Rogers guides and instructs the 20 young boys and girls in her Mountville Elementary classroom each day. This year, Rogers has been selected to apply these skills to assisting her peers as well.

Bright from the Start, the organization that oversees Georgia’s pre-K program, chose Rogers to be one of 50 experienced teachers making up this year’s Mentor Teacher Program. Designed to offer assistance and support to professionals new to the pre-K teaching field, the Mentor Teacher Program takes a major part in the New Teacher Institute and provides structure for local teaching mentoring.

This month, Rogers attended training facilitated by Georgia State University in preparation for her instructional role in the New Teacher Institute.

“Three times this year, I’ll be asked to take part in the new teacher training,” she said. “I’ll share ideas and examples from my classroom in a professional portfolio, conduct teaching activities, and evaluate lesson plans to help the new teachers get started.”

Rogers, who has 14 years of experience as a pre-K teacher, is enthusiastic about supporting others in her field and serves locally as the Ppre-K coach for Callaway zone schools. “We meet each month to share ideas, talk through challenges, and offer assistance.”

Working closely with her long-time classroom teacher assistant, Beth Mills, Rogers said she enjoys the challenges of teaching the youngest students. When asked what advice she gives to new pre-K teachers, Rogers said, “‘Be patient.’ These children are 4 years old. We are their very first schoolteachers, and it is up to us to help them develop a love of learning and a love of school.”