Lincoln Public Schools

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EMPLOYMENT

Application

Persons who wish to serve as mentors of the highly gifted must apply by filling out a mentor application and presenting official college transcript(s) to the Human Resources Office at Lincoln Public Schools District Offices (LPSDO), 5901 O Street.

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Selection of Mentors

• If a student’s Personal Learning Plan (PLP) prescribes a mentorship, the school will work with Human Resources to identify a mentor. Parents may participate in the selection of a mentor, and, in all instances, the parents must approve the mentor.
• Mentors must be selected from the list of those available in the office of Human Resources (HR). HR has established a liaison with local colleges and universities and other sources for the purpose of developing and maintaining a list of qualified mentors.
• The school’s principal or gifted facilitator will review mentor files available in HR prior to contacting the candidate.

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Qualifications of Mentors

Mentors should be talented individuals with the following qualifications:

• The ability to relate to highly gifted students
• Commitment to the job
• Sensitivity to the special needs of such students, including fast-paced, in-depth study
• The ability to communicate well on a one-to-one basis
• The ability to communicate well with students, faculty, and parents
• Enthusiasm about the subject to be mentored
• Academic qualifications:
1. Academic major in one of the following disciplines: English, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, history, geography, political science, economics, world language, philosophy, or computer science
2. College students or graduates with majors in other areas who have at least 15 hours in an academic major listed above may also be considered.
3. Grade point average of 3.0 overall and 3.5 in subject area of mentorship
4. Academic standing required for level of assignment is:
• Elementary - junior or senior standing or BA
• Middle School - senior standing or BA
• Senior High - BA or BA plus some graduate work

Persons who do not meet the qualifications but who have other experiences which may be equivalent may also be considered on an individual basis. The Steering committee will review requests for variation from qualifications, making recommendations to the District Supervisor of the Gifted Program.

Appointment of mentors will be made by Human Resources upon recommendations of the principal.

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Termination of Employment

A mentor’s assignment to work with a specific student may be terminated at any time at the request of the parent or principal.

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Salary

• Mentor pay is $14.42 per hour for the 2004-2005 school year. Mentors are paid for actual contact time with the student up to five hours a week per student. As a part of their responsibilities, mentors are expected to plan for mentorships and conference with parents/teachers/student.
• Mentorships may include more than one student if specific guidelines are met. Mentors will receive an additional stipend for an additional student being mentored at the same time. See Guidelines for Mentorships.
• Mentorships will be supervised with respect to time, payroll and building space by the principal or the gifted facilitator.
1. The mentor is responsible for recording the actual time spent with the highly gifted student.
2. The name of each student’s mentor must be entered on the monthly Hourly Time Report form, along with the total number of hours spent with the student. The report is submitted by the school to the payroll department. Note: For auditing purposes, the Hourly Time Report must be kept on file at the building.
3. The mentor must be notified when the student is absent. Failure to do so necessitates payment to the mentor for time scheduled with the student. Parents are responsible for notifying the mentor of the absence. Schools will keep the mentor’s schedule in order to assist parents in contacting the mentors.
4. The mentor must be notified by the school in advance of any change of schedule due to field trips, speakers, Metropolitan Achievement Testing, or other special activities.

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Expenses

• The mentor is responsible for submitting mileage records and receipts for materials or expenses (supplemental books, equipment, etc.), approved by the principal/gifted program facilitator, to the Office of Gifted Program Supervisor, Box 19, LPSDO, at the end of each quarter.
• Mentors will receive mileage as designated yearly by the IRS for:
1. Travel between schools
2. School to field trip site and return
• Reimbursement for materials purchased for use with highly gifted students will be made under the following conditions:
1. The material is not available in the school or central office.
2. The purchase of material is approved in advance by the principal and/or gifted program supervisor.
• All columns for each trip must be completed on the mileage log in order to receive reimbursement.
• Original, itemized receipts are required to receive reimbursement.

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Conference and Planning Procedures for the Mentorship

Conference and planning for Personal Learning Plans (PLP) will be held in accordance with district policy and established PLP procedures.

Personal Learning Plan Procedures

• Within three (3) weeks of the time the student has been identified as highly gifted, a planning conference for the purpose of writing a PLP will be scheduled.
• The PLP will be developed by any combination of the following: parents, principal / gifted facilitator, psychologist (when requested), teacher (as subject matter indicates or when requested), counselor, mentor and, when appropriate, the student. The principal/gifted facilitator will be the PLP manager.
• The academic potential of highly gifted students generally exceeds their chronological age by four to eight years. Many such students may be achieving at a level much lower than their potential. Appropriate diagnostic evaluation instruments that are available should be used prior to developing the PLP goals in order to place the student at the appropriate level. Other assessment instruments provided by the district should be used as students continue through the program.
• The PLP should state the course or subject to be studied, the level or depth of the instruction, and the person who is to be the PLP manager.
• In planning PLPs, the goals and objectives shall be written in academic areas and should be significantly advanced over the regular curriculum. The goals and objectives should be measurable by objective testing, by product or by other appropriate measures. When PLPs specify standard curriculum materials, these materials will be adapted to the rapid learning characteristics of highly gifted students by minimizing repetition.
• Depending on course content, learning styles, and the nature of study objectives, various time frames should be considered for mentorships.

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Guidelines for Mentorships

• The mentor will work with the student in lieu of class instruction during the time the class meets. It is appropriate that the student should be with the mentor at the time when the level of instruction does not meet the student’s needs. Instruction will take place during regular school hours, not before or after school, on Saturdays, on Sundays, or during summer sessions.
• Mentors may not be used a tutors for a regular class in which the student is enrolled (e.g., If the student is enrolled in a calculus class, the mentor may not act as the student’s tutor in that class. Calculus is either taught by the mentor or by the class instructor.).
• Mentorships will be conducted on a one-to-one basis.
• If a mentor is to work with more than one highly gifted student during the same hour, the following elements must be in place:
1. The Personal Learning Plan (PLP) must include the need for peer interaction as a goal.
2. Data should support that both students are at the same instructional level.
3. Parents of the highly gifted students involved in the mentorship should agree to the appropriateness of the placement.
4. The Gifted Program Administrative Steering Committee will review each request and submit a recommendation to the associate superintendent for instruction for final approval.
5. The PLP requesting more than one student to work with a mentor will be reviewed annually by the Steering Committee.
6. Mentors will receive an additional stipend for working with two students.
• The student will be periodically evaluated during the school term and at the end of each semester by appropriate testing, including, where available, objective testing. Where objective tests are not available or appropriate, the PLP shall provide for evaluation by judgment of the mentor or other specified person. In cases where course credit is prescribed, the evaluator (other than the mentor) shall be the department chairperson/gifted facilitator for senior high students, and the subject area curriculum specialist for middle school and elementary students. These evaluators shall maintain close contact with the progress of the course of study and shall provide evaluation feedback at appropriate intervals.
• Evaluation results will be reported to the parents and the PLP manager.
• Mentorships will be supervised with respect to time, payroll and building space by the principal or gifted facilitator.
• The mentorship described by the PLP goals and objectives will be supervised by the principal, department chairperson, or the gifted facilitator (PLP manager).
• Students will be granted course credit for work completed with a mentor in accordance with the district’s guidelines.
1. Each year the Gifted Program Office will collect PLPs that award course credit to elementary or middle level students. Course credit information will be forwarded when the students enter high school.
2. High schools will enter the course/credit/grade information in the “additional credit/experiences” section on the front of the Cumulative Scholarship Record
3. The credit may be used to waive a “field experience” graduation requirement (e.g., physical science, human behavior). Early graduation will be based on completion of appropriate PLPs rather than waiver of total hour requirements.

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Responsibilities of the Mentor

• Along with designated personnel, mentors will develop a Personal Learning Program according to district requirements (See Conference Planning and Procedure). Students are not responsible for work missed in the regular classroom, but the regular classroom teacher must make available to the student information that will be covered on standardized tests.
• Develop PLP evaluation:
1. Objective tests, available from the district, used during the school term and at the end of the semester.
2. Other form(s) of evaluation prepared by the mentor with the assistance of the department chair, curriculum specialist and/or other agreed-upon individual if objective testing is not appropriate.
• Keep a record (formal or informal; portfolio) of student progress.
• Keep the PLP manager, classroom teacher, department chair or specialist informed of student’s progress.
• Attend teacher/parent conference, if requested.
• Inform school if unable to meet with student, preferably the day before, or before class in the morning.

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Rights of the Mentor

• A setting conducive to serious study available to the student and mentor
• Notification by parent or school when student is ill and when school activity requires student to be absent
• Opportunity to attend parent/teacher conferences
• A person at the building level to whom problems or concerns about mentorship should be reported
• Treatment as a professional by other staff members

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Information to be Provided to Mentors

Principal/gifted facilitator will provide the following information:

• Forms: PLP; Hourly Employees Time Report; Mileage Voucher; Expense Voucher
• Map of the school, showing such facilities as student’s room, teachers’ restroom and lounge
• Procedures for having students excused for field trips with mentors
• Weekly notification of grade-level and full-school field trips, assemblies, and other activities that may interfere with mentoring
• List of curriculum specialists/supervisors/directors/school principals/gifted facilitators
• Operational procedures:
1. Mentoring schedule; to whom to report
2. Where and from whom to get materials (pencils, paper, etc.)
3. Personal storage area for curriculum, materials
4. Location of copying machines and guidelines for use
• Use of other rooms
1. Media Center: under whose name materials should be checked out
2. Computer lab:
• Availability of computer, computer programs, discs for student/mentor
• Rules for use
3. Directions for use of mathematics, science, and art centers, and provision of materials

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Inclement Weather

School closing information is broadcast, if possible, on the 10:00 p.m. news on the evening prior to the "weather day" or on local radio stations, beginning at 5:00 a.m. Mentors are not expected to be at their assignments on "weather days" and do not receive pay.

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Mentor Appraisal

Each mentor who serves during a school year will be appraised by the building principal or his/her gifted facilitator. An individual conference between the principal or his/her gifted facilitator and the mentor will be held to review and discuss the appraisal. Both are expected the sign the completed document. A copy should be given to the mentor, and the original should be sent to Human Resources to be placed in the mentor’s personnel file.

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Payroll Procedures for Gifted Mentors

Gifted mentors should maintain a daily time report that must be signed and submitted at the school site to the principal or his/her gifted facilitator on the 10th of every pay period. The mentor should keep a copy of the time report for comparison with his/her paycheck. Call the Payroll Office if there is a problem with a paycheck. All applicable Time Report Sheets need to be available for reference at the time of the call.

The 2004-2005 salary rate for gifted mentors is $14.42 per hour.

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Payroll Period

Gifted mentors are paid once a month for the days worked between the 11th of the previous month and the 10th of the current month. All payroll checks are directly deposited to each employee’s bank. To have pay checks automatically deposited, mentors must fill out a form in the Payroll Office and provide a voided check.

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2004-2005 Gifted Mentor Pay Dates

Time Period	Pay Day
August 11 through September 10	9-30-04
September 11 through October 10	10-29-04
October 11 through November 10	11-30-04
November 11 through December 10	12-27-04
December 11 through January 10	1-31-05
January 11 through February 10	2-28-05
February 11 through March 10	3-31-05
March 11 through April 10	4-29-05
April 11 through May 10	5-31-05
May 11 through June 10	6-30-05

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Sample Personal Learning Plan (PLP)

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Sample Individual Time Report Form - Elementary School

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Sample Individual Time Report Form - Middle School

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Sample Individual Time Report Form - High School

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Sample Mileage Voucher - Elementary School

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Sample Mileage Voucher - Middle School

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Sample Mileage Voucher - High School

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Sample Expense Voucher - District

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Sample Expense Voucher - Elementary School

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Sample Expense Voucher - Middle School

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Sample Expense Voucher - High School