Texas Rising Star Mentor Newsletter: October Edition

A Message From Your Facilitators

Greetings Mentors,

We are happy to officially launch The New Mentor Academy training series this month. The first session, Part 1-Getting Started, will kick off this four-part series on Tuesday, October 10, at 11:00 am -12:00 pm. Feel free to explore this month’s issue for updates, helpful resources, and reminders that will guide your work as we continue to work together towards quality. Please reach out to our team at TRSMentoring@uth.tmc.edu if you have any clarifying questions or concerns.

See you next issue!

Ashley, Sheri, Ebone’, Daisy, and Kiara

The Texas Rising Star Mentor Team

Announcements

Our team has come together to set a personal goal for statewide participants of the Texas Rising Star Mentor Program to collectively obtain a total of 50 Micro-credential Badges by the end of July 2024. Each month we will be using our Badge Meter to track our Program’s progress towards our goal. Since August 2023, 3 Micro-credential Badges have been earned.

Listed below are those 3 mentors we would like to recognize for obtaining a Micro-credential in Coach Core Competency Area 2: Observation Skills:

Jessica Glasco, Tarrant

Madison Bryant, Golden Crescent

Mary Havens, North Texas

Lastly, we want to give a shout out and especially recognize Angela Magers-pictured above (Northeast Texas) for her accomplishment in obtaining the Coach Credential.

Way to go, mentors! Keep up the great work!

Texas Rising Star Mentor Program Goal:

50 Micro-credential Badges

Total: 3 Micro-credential Badges

News to Note

PLC Norms

As a reminder, active participation in the Coach Micro-credential Program and in PLCs, as well as a monthly video submission, are expectations from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Our team is more than happy to support your success in our Program!

Attendance and submission policies:

We will not be able to award mentors credit for attending if they are more than 20 minutes late to their PLC.
One video submission on CLI Engage is due no later than 3 days before the next scheduled PLC to receive credit.

CQIP Corner

A new feature has been added to the CQIP Tool, which requires mentors to enter a visit date and the length of the visit (hours) when creating and closing a CQIP. The length of the visit should reflect the total time of the mentoring visit. In the future, this data will appear on the Event Log.

Be sure to save the CQIP Frequently Asked Questions and the CQIP Checklist as resources to support you in creating quality CQIPs for your practitioners.

Competency Corner

Are you Looking to Obtain the Core Competency Area 2: Observation Skills Micro-credential?

Consider enrolling in the Observing Practitioners submission course to show your knowledge of and practical application of the Observation Skills behaviors.

Observation Skills Quiz: Part 1

You will answer multiple-choice questions centered around observing practitioners objectively.
A passing grade will allow you to progress to Part 2.

Submission and Reflective Questions: Part 2

You will upload your detailed observation notes and/or observation video from a teacher, program, or classroom observation.
You will respond to reflective questions to articulate how you would use your uploaded notes or video to provide constructive and supportive feedback to the practitioner.

By receiving a passing grade in Part 2, you will have demonstrated the Observation Skills competencies and will be issued a Micro-credential Badge.

Reminders

Be sure your video submission meets the following criteria:

Up to 20 minutes in length
Audio and visual of you and the practitioner

Mentors are encouraged to use the online text box to indicate the competency they are demonstrating in the video submission.

Questions

Please complete a help ticket if you have questions about your status within the Coach Micro-credential Program or if you need support with uploading videos.

Click here to submit a MC Help Ticket.

Training and Events

The New Mentor Academy

We are excited to introduce you to a training series we are launching this month, The New Mentor Academy. The purpose is to provide professional development for new Texas Rising Star mentors—mentors who have been hired within the last 12 months. To register for October training sessions, click on the buttons below.

Part 1- Getting Started

Tuesday, October 10, 11:00am-12:00pm

Part 2- Getting Early Learning Programs Assessment Ready

Tuesday, October 24, 11:00am-12:00pm

We encourage mentors with more than 12 months experience to attend Mentor Office Hours. Office Hours are optional and held every Monday from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (CST) on Zoom.

Mentor Resource Toolkit

Engage Support

Coach Micro-credential Program Walkthrough Video	This video is a resource available with detailed steps on how to navigate the Micro-credential Program on CLI Engage.
Video Submission Checklist	This checklist includes step-by-step directions for preparing as well as submitting videos into the Micro-credential Program on CLI Engage.
How-To Guide: Google Drive Link Submission	This guide will show mentors how to submit a Google Drive link to the Micro-credential Program on CLI Engage.
PLC Video Survey	This survey will need to be completed after each video submitted to the Micro-credential Program on CLI Engage.
New submission when video has not been coded	This guide will show mentors how to submit a new video when a previous video(s) still needs to be coded.
My Progress Guide	This guide will show mentors how to navigate the My Progress page in CLI Engage.

PLC Resources

Coaching Competencies Definitions	This resource includes details and examples of the coaching competencies.
Coach Micro-credential Progress Checklist	This checklist allows mentors to track the badges earned participating in the Coach Micro-credential Program.

Ongoing Support

Texas Rising Star Mentor Office Hours	Office Hours are available every Monday on Zoom at 11:00am-12:00pm (Central time) for mentors to receive support related to their scope of work.
Mentoring Visit Recording Opportunities	This resource includes a list of opportunities mentors may have to record during mentoring visits.
Communication About Continuous Improvement	This resource provides descriptions of coaching competencies 60 and 61, as well as examples of conversations to demonstrate these behaviors.

Reminders

All mentors are required to attend 1 PLC every month. PLCs are held on Zoom using the link in the calendar invite.

Mentors are required to submit 1 video of a mentoring visit every month. Video should be submitted to the Coach Micro-credential Program on CLI Engage two weeks, but no later than 3 days, prior to the next scheduled PLC. If your previous video still needs to be coded, please follow the steps indicated in New submission when video has not been coded.

For any questions or concerns, please contact TRSmentoring@uth.tmc.edu

For more professional resources, please visit texasrisingstar.org

Delivered to Texas Rising Star mentors on behalf of the Texas Rising Star Mentor Team at The Children's Learning Institute

7000 Fannin Street, Suite 2300, Houston, Texas 77030

childrenslearninginstitute.org