An Education Lab in Cortez Provides Mentorship for New Teachers

Recruiting and retaining certified teachers in Cortez has been a challenge due to lower wages and lack of housing, so many classroom teachers are from alternative certification pathways. That dynamic has resulted in teachers with limited knowledge of classroom management and lesson planning. To address that problem, the Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 and the Public Education Business Coalition teamed up to launch a mentor program to partner new educators with veteran teachers and create dynamic lesson plans. With this goal in mind, they reached out to the LOR Foundation, which helped provide a stipend for 18 teachers to participate in the lab and receive specialized training.