The Challenge:
Exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, Idaho experienced elevated teacher attrition—particularly among early-career educators in rural and remote districts—and needed a scalable support system to improve retention, instructional quality, and student outcomes. Decades of research confirm that structured mentoring significantly boosts new teachers’ satisfaction and decreases turnover, especially in under-resourced schools.
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What We Did:
TEG implemented the Ready LXP Mentoring Platform in partnership with the Idaho State Board of Education and Department of Education to launch a statewide mentoring pilot aimed at rural, early-career teachers:
- Matched first- through third-year teachers with experienced mentors based on subject, grade level, and individual development needs.
- Facilitated structured support, including monthly one-on-one mentoring, virtual trainings, and cohort-based engagement.
- Integrated access to high-quality professional development content, mentoring pathways, and resources within the Ready LXP platform.
- Prioritized equitable access by targeting rural and remote schools and providing remote cohort participation.
- Deployed tracking and analytics tools to monitor mentor–mentee interactions, session attendance, and growth trends.
The Result:
- In the initial phase of the pilot, 30 mentors were carefully matched with new teachers across rural LEAs, strengthening support networks in regions with the greatest need.
- The platform delivers consistent mentoring regardless of location—ensuring that even remote educators receive the same high-level support as their peers.
- Research shows structured mentorship can halve new teacher attrition and significantly increase job satisfaction; Idaho’s model builds on these proven outcomes.
- Idaho leadership cites the program as “a statewide investment that will help improve teacher performance and student achievement by creating a professional support network”.