Skill Building / Mentoring

Peer mentors are experienced supervisors who have attended and completed the classroom series of “Putting the Pieces Together”. In the peer mentoring program, experienced supervisors are paired up by ETS staff with new supervisors attending the classroom series.

New supervisors are required to complete a series of Skill Building activities. These activities are designed to enhance the transfer of learning form the classroom experience to their “day to day” work activities. Mentors counsel and guide new supervisors as they complete each of the required activities.

The Supervisors Learning Journal is the companion guide to the Skill Building Activities. The Journal is used both in the classroom and Skill Building/ mentoring process. It is a place for new supervisors to capture and document their progress and thoughts about the activities and conversations with their mentors.

The Peer mentor documents their conversations with their mentees on the Skill Building Mentor Documentation worksheet provided with the mentoring materials. It is also a place to jot down any observations about their mentee’s insight and progress towards their professional development as a DFCS supervisor.

There are four Skill Building units that correspond to each week of the classroom series. The first Skill Building Activity-Classroom Prep is intended to prepare supervisors for their classroom experience.

Once all activities are successfully completed, new supervisors submit their signed Skill Building Signature page to the classroom facilitator to be entered as “completed” on their ETS transcripts.

Skill Building Materials:

• Skill Building Activity: Classroom Prep - completed prior to the first day of class Unit 1
• Skill Building Activity: Administrative Supervision – completed prior to the first day of the second week of class-Unit 2
• Skill Building Activity: Educative Supervision - completed prior to the first day of the third week of class-Unit 3
• Skill Building Activity: Supportive Supervision - completed within 14 days after the last day of class
  Team Building Evaluation Form

Supervisor Learning Journal: This journal is provided to all Putting the Pieces Together classroom participants. It is used both in the classroom and to document participant responses when completing the Skill Building/Mentoring activities.

Mentor Materials:

Mentor Guide Book : New Mentors are provided this guidebook prior to their first mentoring experience as part of their training. The guide consists of a series of activities and information intended to help mentors understand their role responsibilities.

Skill Building mentor Documentation : Mentors document their interactions with their assigned mentee on this electronic form upon completion of each Skill Building activity. The mentor will send an electronic copy to their mentee and the classroom facilitator once completed.

Skill Building Signature Page : Completed by the peer mentor after each Skill Building Activity is completed by the new supervisor.