ASTA Mentor Program


What is the ASTA Mentor Program?

ASTA recognizes that teachers in the first five years of their career (mentees) would benefit from a program in which highly qualified string specialists serve as a mentor to them, providing valuable insights. The ASTA Mentor Program is designed to connect early career teachers with experienced school string/orchestra teachers.

The ASTA Mentor Program committee connects mentees with a qualified mentor based on mentee areas of interest and mentor background. The mentee and mentor communicate through email, telephone, video chat, or in some cases face-to-face. Teaching observations (live or via video) may be included in mentor-mentee discussions. Some mentor-mentees also meet at the annual ASTA National Conference.

How Do I Get a Mentor?

Mentee applications for the 2020-2021 school year are now closed. Notifications will be sent in October 2020.

To apply for next year, please check back in summer 2021.

 

How Do I Become a Mentor?

Mentor applications for the 2020-2021 school year are now closed. Notifications will be sent in October 2020.

To apply for next year, please check back in summer 2021. Mentors are selected based on prior mentoring experience and ASTA mentee needs. Mentors are required to participate in at least one of the online mentor training sessions scheduled several times throughout the school year.

Meet the 2020-2021 ASTA Mentors
Coming Soon!


ASTA Mentor Program History

ASTA's national mentoring program grew from the expressed needs of ASTA members, many of whom are the only string/orchestra teacher in their building. The program launched with a pre-conference session in Spring 2016—“Preparing To Be An ASTA Mentor.” During this session, experienced string teachers from across the country learned about the teacher development continuum, mentoring styles, communication strategies, and string/orchestra specific teaching challenges through discussion, video observation, and hands-on activities. Pre-conference facilitators were Dr. Margaret Berg, Dr. Colleen Conway, and Mr. Bob Phillips.