I read a Tweet about SAVMP - School Administrators Virtual Mentor Program and clicked on the link to find out what it was all about. I learned what was required to be a mentor, and I was intrigued. I met the qualifications: I am a principal with more than three years of experience; I have a professional blog and a Twitter account; and I was willing to mentor new principals. However, I hesitated. Would I be an effective mentor? Do I have the time? What if I have nothing to offer my mentees? I did not jump at the opportunity, but I did mention my dilemma to our librarian/media resource teacher, and she encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone. I decided to take a leap of faith and sign up to be a mentor. There was no guarantee, after all, that I would be selected.
Well, I am now a virtual mentor to Natalie, Scott, and Jeff who live in Montana, Washington, and British Columbia. We are learning together . . . and I am certainly enjoying the experience. I felt my mentees' excitement when they shared about their first days of school, and it was coincidental that two of them showed the same video to their staff! (I viewed it and applauded their choice.)
What I'm learning from this experience is that there are so many opportunities for educators to grow professionally. The SAVMP community has outstanding members, and I enjoy reading other blogs and realizing that many of us share similar challenges as we seek to positively impact education, not just at our school, but globally as well. I hope to share my experiences with my principal friends, and maybe I'll be able to convince others to join me as mentors or mentees in this virtual community.
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