Mentor′s Guidebook

Be the best mentor for early career teachers

Mentors are critical to the success of new and aspiring teachers. In a time when so many teachers are leaving the profession within the first few years of their career, empowering mentorship can make a world of difference—not only for teacher retention, but instructional quality and positive student outcomes.

Written for any mentor who is new to the role or wants to reinforce or build upon their existing skills, The Mentor′s Guidebook walks you through the core concepts of being an inspiring mentor and guide. Inside, you′ll discover

• Your personal Mentorship Modality
• How to create an environment for effective mentorship and build and maintain your momentum
• An exploration of various mentorship models known to be successful
• The role that school leadership plays in your success
• What to do when things do not go as planned

Help reclaim and reframe the narrative of what it means to be a teacher today. With effective mentorship strategies, you can make a difference in retaining and inspiring new teachers for years to come.

Vince Bustamante, EdD, is a Calgary-based instructional coach, curriculum content developer, and author. Vince specializes in working with teachers, leadership teams, schools, and school districts in implementing high impact strategies and systems. With a strong background in implementation, assessment, and deep learning, he is passionate about understanding and evaluating teachers′ impact. Having worked with schools and school districts across North America and internationally, he brings a wide variety of experience and perspectives when looking at school improvement, pedagogical and leadership development, and implementation of high impact strategies across school environments. Vince’s doctoral research focused on the sustainable implementation of professional learning across school districts and the impact of long-term school partnerships. Vince has co-authored two bestselling books with Corwin Press: Great Teaching by Design and The Assessment Playbook for Distance and Blended Learning. His other title, Leader Ready: Four Pathways to Prepare Aspiring School Leaders, is also available from Corwin Press. You can find more information about Vince at www.vincebustamante.com. Timothy P. Cusack, EdD, has over 30 years of experience as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, and superintendent. Having taught in rural boards in northern and southern Alberta, Tim also has 10 years of experience as a school leader (K–12) and 8 years of experience as a system leader of a large urban school board. Tim currently serves as the Dean of Education of Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) where he leads a teacher preparation program (after degree in education) and a Master of Education in educational leadership program. His doctoral research focuses on new teacher preparation, teacher mentorship, and leadership development. His dissertation (University of Portland, 2020), which centered on preparing aspiring school leaders, evolved into his first book with Corwin: Leader Ready: Four Pathways to Prepare Aspiring School Leaders (2023). Tim has worked with school jurisdictions across Canada and the United States in sharing his passion for leadership development and teacher mentorship. Tim also serves in the Royal Canadian Navy (Reserve) and is currently the Commanding Officer of HMCS Nonsuch, Edmonton’s naval reserve division. His experience in K–12 education, postsecondary leadership, and military leadership adds richness and depth to his work as an educational consultant and author. Wayne Davies, Ed.D., is the Director of Student Teaching at the University of Winnipeg where he also teaches. Prior to this role, he spent 32 years as a teacher and school leader. He has taught and led in many settings including on the Lax Kw’alaams reserve in British Columbia, Canada as well as in rural and urban school divisions in Manitoba. As a principal in Selkirk, Wayne was part of the nationally acclaimed BOSS Guitar Works project which he eventually wrote about in his novel “The Guitar Principal”. In 2014, Wayne was recognized as one of Canada’s top 40 school leaders and is a Distinguished Alumnus at the University of Manitoba for his community work. A citizen of the Red River Métis, Wayne holds an Ed.d in educational leadership from the University of Western Ontario where his work focused on high school graduation rates and the role of culture, student voice and two-eyed seeing in increasing Indigenous student success.