Mentoring and coaching are some of the enumerated roles and responsibilities of school administrators. Mentoring consist of extending professional and personal supervision to an assigned mentee. Coaching includes providing fixated career support to a concerned individual. Developing and managing human resources of any system brings sufficient benefits to the organization. Creating investment on the area of professional development such as education, acquisition of skills, and further training is an essential need to maintain an organization and its progress in the end.

Some use highly structured mentoring procedures and others just do what they perceived as right. Mentoring programs serving large numbers of protégé must be well thought out and implemented with purpose in order to be successful. In recent years, programs such as knowledge sharing, coaching and mentoring, intensive skill trainings or workshops in schools have been conducted by school administrators.     

Key to Accelerate Performance of Educators (KAPE) mentoring approach is a research based output that has shown significant changes on the manner of coaching and mentoring teachers conducted in selected schools of Malaybalay City Division. Easy and doable steps compared to other mentoring and coaching models distinguish the approach. It helps mentors and mentees how to go along with challenges that both parties have to address.

Specifically, the approach literally highlights a cup of coffee in the table while doing mentoring. It might be a one on one, or group coffee break conversation. Additionally, the approach is not only limited with coffee break conversations; it also includes casual conversation with mentees during unexpected encounters or potential meet ups in corridors, office, classrooms, or everywhere that a healthy intercourse may possibly happen. To make the approach relevant with the advent of technology, the approach also features digitize communication lines. It may be in social media chats like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Skype, emails and a lot more. Phone messaging and calls are also included just to address the problem of time constraints.

Generally, the process is done in a less threatening relationship, casual, and off-the-cuff conversations. The help of experienced teachers also is being embedded in the approach. They reinforce and model skills. Based on research done, the approach would like to address the emerging themes of mentoring and coaching: (1) mentor-mentee relationship, (2) role modeling, directing, assisting and supporting mentees, (3) availability of time and peer support. Based on the findings of the research conducted, the approach has created positive impact in improving mentoring and coaching of school heads. Teachers positively responded during the processes.

Furthermore, KAPE approach follows seven fundamental steps:

K-         Know the Needs
A–         Ascertain Objectives
P-         Plan for Actions
E-         Execute the Plan with Guidance
M-         Make Healthy Discussions about the Performance
C-         Communicate Agreements and Plan the Future
A-         Allocate time for Monitoring and Review

NYMS M. DOCDOCIL
ESHT-I
MAKIBA CLUSTER
Division of Malaybalay City