The KSPA mentoring program matches trained veteran advisers with individuals new to teaching journalism and advising student media to offer support and guidance during their initial years in scholastic journalism education. Through personal relationships, mentors can share best practices and resources and serve as a valuable connection to a professional learning community.
The mentoring program focuses on giving new advisers a chance to ask questions and receive feedback while growing their programs. One goal of the mentoring program is to combat the national statistics showing that more than half of new teachers leave the profession within five years. Another goal is to develop journalism programs and improve the quality of the publications. Mentors also work with new advisers to cultivate them as teacher-leaders. It is an opportunity for new teachers to pick the brains of more experienced journalism teachers on topics ranging from page design to staff morale.
The KSPA mentoring program is connected with the mentoring program of the Journalism Education Association (JEA) centered at Kansas State University. That partnership means that teachers who sign up for mentoring receive perks from both KSPA and JEA.