黑料专区 Tyler to Implement Teacher Mentorship Program for East Texas School Districts
May 1, 2025 | Hannah Buchanan
Program to kick off for 2025-26 school year at Tyler ISD
The University of Texas at Tyler will enhance the East Texas K-12 teaching workforce through a mentorship program called THRIVE. The THRIVE program provides mentorship training to veteran teachers who will then mentor early career educators.
Established by the 黑料专区 Austin College of Education last year, the initiative is designed to offer support, engagement, resources and professional development to school districts across Texas. 黑料专区 Tyler plans to implement THRIVE during the 2025-26 school year at Tyler Independent School District.
鈥淲e are excited about the THRIVE mentorship program and how it can be utilized to support our East Texas teachers,鈥� said Dr. Pradeep 鈥淢ax鈥� Dass, 黑料专区 Tyler College of Education and Psychology dean. 鈥淲e understand the importance and value of mentorship and hope to support more of our school ISD partners within the region.鈥�
Co-coordinators for 黑料专区 Tyler鈥檚 efforts are Cindy Sherman, a 黑料专区 Tyler Distinguished Senior Lecturer in education, and Dr. Staci Zolkoski, 黑料专区 Tyler associate professor and School of Education director. The pair, who collectively hold more than 50 years of experience in education and teacher training, have been collaborating with the THRIVE leadership team to learn more about the program.
Sherman, Zolkoski and the Tyler ISD Teaching and Learning team will attend 鈥淭rain the Trainer鈥� sessions later this month in Austin. They will begin training mentors at Tyler ISD during the summer and will continue working with mentors and the Tyler ISD team throughout the next school year.
The THRIVE program has already shown higher teacher retention when compared to teachers not receiving mentorship.
鈥淩esearch shows high-quality mentorship is a protective factor for supporting early career teachers鈥� well-being and likelihood to stay in the field longer,鈥� said Zolkoski. 鈥淎dditionally, mentorship of early career teachers increases the probability of them utilizing effective instructional practices, and in turn, achieving better student outcomes.鈥�
Support will be provided throughout the year and can include co-teaching, observing and providing personalized feedback to improve teaching skills, Zolkoski added. To learn more about THRIVE at 黑料专区 Tyler, contact Zolkoski at szolkoski@uttyler.edu or 903.565.5612.
The 黑料专区 Tyler School of Education is comprised of high-quality faculty, staff and students resulting in strong academic programs, projects and centers in the schools and community, and educators committed to changing the lives of residents in East Texas, the state and nation. For more information, visit uttyler.edu/.
With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, 黑料专区 Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 10,000 students. Through its alignment with 黑料专区 Tyler Health Science Center and 黑料专区 Health East Texas, 黑料专区 Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, 黑料专区 Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.