UT Tyler to Implement Teacher Mentorship Program for East Texas School Districts

May 1, 2025 | Hannah Buchanan

Program to kick off for 2025-26 school year at Tyler ISD

The University of Texas at Tyler will enhance the East Texas K-12 teaching workforce through a mentorship program called THRIVE. The THRIVE program provides mentorship training to veteran teachers who will then mentor early career educators.

Established by the UT Austin College of Education last year, the initiative is designed to offer support, engagement, resources and professional development to school districts across Texas. UT Tyler plans to implement THRIVE during the 2025-26 school year at Tyler Independent School District.

“We are excited about the THRIVE mentorship program and how it can be utilized to support our East Texas teachers,” said Dr. Pradeep “Max” Dass, UT Tyler College of Education and Psychology dean. “We understand the importance and value of mentorship and hope to support more of our school ISD partners within the region.”

Co-coordinators for UT Tyler’s efforts are Cindy Sherman, a UT Tyler Distinguished Senior Lecturer in education, and Dr. Staci Zolkoski, UT Tyler associate professor and School of Education director. The pair, who collectively hold more than 50 years of experience in education and teacher training, have been collaborating with the THRIVE leadership team to learn more about the program.

Sherman, Zolkoski and the Tyler ISD Teaching and Learning team will attend “Train the Trainer” sessions later this month in Austin. They will begin training mentors at Tyler ISD during the summer and will continue working with mentors and the Tyler ISD team throughout the next school year.

The THRIVE program has already shown higher teacher retention when compared to teachers not receiving mentorship.

“Research shows high-quality mentorship is a protective factor for supporting early career teachers’ well-being and likelihood to stay in the field longer,” said Zolkoski. “Additionally, mentorship of early career teachers increases the probability of them utilizing effective instructional practices, and in turn, achieving better student outcomes.”

Support will be provided throughout the year and can include co-teaching, observing and providing personalized feedback to improve teaching skills, Zolkoski added. To learn more about THRIVE at UT Tyler, contact Zolkoski at szolkoski@uttyler.edu or 903.565.5612.

The UT Tyler School of Education is comprised of high-quality faculty, staff and students resulting in strong academic programs, projects and centers in the schools and community, and educatorscommitted to changing the lives of residents in East Texas, the state and nation. For more information, visit uttyler.edu/.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.