Cynthia Spicer is applying for a teacher mentor position at Fortmont Elementary. She has five years of teaching experience and a successful track record of collaborating with other teachers. As a mentor, she would use her skills in guidance, support, and sharing knowledge to help new teachers grow professionally. Spicer describes her strengths that make her a good fit for the mentor role, including being a developer who provides pathways for growth, having empathy to understand others' perspectives, bringing new ideas through creativity, providing positivity and motivation, and seeing the big picture strategically. Her goal is to guide teachers through reinforcement and investing in their career development. She believes her experience, leadership abilities, and focus on

1. Colleen Berry
Teacher/Mentor Promotion Presentation
EDL/500
March 31st, 2014
Cynthia Spicer

2. Fortmont Elementary
Teacher Leader Candidate

3. Thank you for your consideration in my transitioning into a teacher
mentor at Fortmont Elementary. This is a natural step for me in my
journey as a teacher leader as I have had the amazing opportunity to
collaborate with an outstanding group of teachers over the past five
years.
As a successful teacher mentor and leader , I encompasses many
skills and abilities that enable me to guide others in their emotional
and professional growth. In this position I can share my knowledge
and have the opportunity to get to know new teachers on a personal
level. This allows me to provide the guidance and support needed to
help them grow and become future mentors and leaders of the school
as well.
I would like to take this opportunity to share with you what my
personal strengths and leadership style are, and how these qualities
and abilities make me the perfect candidate for the teacher mentor
opportunity.

4. Developer
My goal is to help others experience success through
understanding of their potential. I can provide pathways for others
to navigate in their journey as an educator.
Empathy
I am a very intuitive individual and am tuned into others emotions
and feelings. This allows me to understand their point of view as
well as anticipate others needs who may not have the comfort
level to speak up but need guidance, or just an outlet to vent.
Ideation
Using my creativity, I excel at connecting with others through a
sharing of ideas and perspectives. I love new concepts and
believe in developing those.

5. Positivity
This strengths provides the basis for motivation through
praise and positive reinforcement. I believe in celebrating
achievements, big and small.
Strategic
A successful teacher mentor/leader is able to look at the
big picture and understand the goals of the administration. I
encompass this strength and am able to break the big
picture into smaller more manageable parts which provides
colleagues with focus and better understanding. This
strength also gives others the guidance needed to find
answers or resolutions to problems.

6. My ultimate goal is to guide.
Through positive reinforcement,
I invest my time and talent into
developing an individuals career
path. This is achieved by
assessing their goals and
aspirations , allowing me to
provide them with tools to
achieve those goals, such as
reflection, self evaluation, and
idea sharing.
This environment breeds a
higher quality of performance as
the teacher has a better
understanding of who they are,
their position expectations, and
career path opportunities

7. My leadership style is strictly
guided by the rules and regulations
of the school district. It is my
responsibility to provide guidance
to others while ensuring proper
policies and procedures are
followed.

8. Vision
Motivation
Empathy
Trustworthy
Risk Taking
Focus/follow through
Humor
Zimmerman, 2005

9. • Understand the overall goals/objectives of the
district and school administration, and be able to
articulate how they will be achieved.
• Motivate others through praise, appreciation, and
recognition
• Implement a collaborative environment to
encourage others to develop leadership abilities.
• Empathy to understand others moods and
feelings which will allow me to provide guidance

10. • Empower teachers through a collaborative
approach thus building an environment of
confidence and mentoring
• Exhibit trustworthiness in accordance to my
values and beliefs and be consistent in those
• Will Test new ideas and strategies of the teams
(risk)
• Be flexible and open to continued learning and
self improvement Adjust to change
• Be A lifelong learner and apply my past
knowledge and thinking to new ideas and
learned content

11. My success as a classroom teacher, along with
my personal strengths and leadership abilities
have prepared me to be an effective teacher of
teachers.
I will guide my colleagues in the understanding
of the curriculum, grade level objectives, and
school policies.
Through communication and collaboration, I
relish the opportunity to share my knowledge as
well as learn from those I am guiding.

12. Krisko, M. (2001). Teacher leadership: A profile to identify the potential. From
ERIC,
1-17. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED459147.pdf
Rath, T. (2007). Strengths Finder. New York: Gallup Press.
Zimmerman, R.M. (2005). Zimmerman-Lehman. Retrieved from
http://www.zimmerman-jehman.com