Appendix C

Cohort I Mentoring Projects

Project One:

"Registers exist within ranges and have definable properties but lack discrete boundaries." Risa Shaw
"Determining Register in Sign-to-English Interpreting".

A walk through my three- ringed notebook entitled "Mentorship Project" will give my colleagues a snapshot of what is to come to Idaho as well as serve as a journal to capture my endeavors over the past 4 months. When we leave the notebook, I will specify the goals and plans for the future- this July and fall of 2002. My overstuffed three-ringed notebook has nine sections with the following tabs: IRID, Patty, Betsy/TIEM, Julie, Lodging, ISU, Links to Terps, Funding and Responses. Following the title of the tab I will include a descriptor for that section.

SECTION ONE- IDAHO REGISTRY OF INTERPRETERS FOR THE DEAF (IRID)- THE FLEDGLING SECTION
Spring 2001 IRID hosted a workshop with Clayton Valli and Julie Simon. It was at that business meeting that an announcement was made about a Mentoring Committee. The three interested parties contacted the Vice President of IRID (he graduated from TIEM's Teaching ASL Program last December) and the process began. He explained how the RID Scholarship could work and explained that he thought we'd have a better chance of getting funded if we ran a pilot mentorship project in the fall. It was decided that we would all commit 3 hours per week with a mentee on a volunteer basis. We contacted two local teachers of the Deaf and asked their thoughts on this. After a ton of glitches, three of us were able to successfully complete a semester of mentoring educational interpreters.

SECTION TWO- PATTY- THE EASY SECTION
On Jan 23. I e-mailed Patty Gordon and asked her if she had ever been to Idaho. My goal was to bring training here so that a group of individuals could learn how to mentor educational interpreters in Idaho. I thought that it would be inadequate if I was the only person trained to mentor in Idaho. She responded with enthusiasm and gave me the contacts for her business SLICES and we began our correspondence. We determined that although this summer is already busy, the weekend of July 19-22 would work for Patty. All Patty needed was a TV, VHS, overhead projector, white board, seats and tables that can be moved and hopefully an even number of participants. I told Patty that I really want to share Marty's books with the trainees, as well as Patty and Mari's book and the Self-Paced Modules for MRID. She agreed that these would be great tools for the trainees to come away owning. Now, how to get the money for all those books?

SECTION THREE- BETSY AND CLASS-THE HELPFUL SECTION
This is where all of my classmates come into play. I have never coordinated a workshop in my life and I needed to depend on all the experience and expertise of those who have gone before me. My classmates suggested a host of sources for funding. They pointed me to contacts such as Julie Simon, the DO IT center, organizations for donations, The School for the Deaf and Blind, they even sent me a sample of a grant that was funded. Additionally, I needed a letter of recommendation for RID and I asked Betsy to write one. She mentored me in crafting the letter and then she finalized it.

SECTION FOUR- RESPONSES FROM SURVEYS- THE CONFUSING SECTION
It was a few days later in January when I began the process of identifying the participants for the training. I had so many questions- What criteria would I use for selecting trainees? What would the training require of trainees? What would the cost of registration be? Would they mentor next semester? I picked up our Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Directory and started sizing up all certified interpreters. How would I select which individuals to bring in for training? How would the others feel? Who would do this pro-bono?

This was the hardest part. I began with certified interpreters (NAD, RID-CI, CSCÖanything) and sent out an informal survey via e-mail to get a pulse. I sent it to about 20 individuals in the state and got responses back from everyone. It started to get political from this point forward however. If I invited certified individuals only I would be slighting key players in the whole scheme of things (e.g. the president of our state chapter or RID, the past president of IRID, an instructor in the ITP and one of the 4 interpreters in the Mentoring Committee.) From here I made about five phone calls and got the pulse from individuals that I highly respect but continued to get mixed messages about who should be involved.

SECTION 5 - JULIE (REGION X INTERPRETER EDUCATION CENTER)- THE STRAIGHTFORWARD INFORMATIVE SECTION
I contacted Julie and spoke to her about my project, my vision, my concerns etc. She was very helpful (as always) and readies to offer advice (as always.) She sent me information regarding funding from her organization as well as other handouts she has used in mentoring and information about how to put on a workshop. It was all invaluable information. (By the way, they will be co-sponsoring this event!)

SECTION 6- LODGING/IDAHO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND -
THE HEART-FAILURE SECTION
I contacted the superintendent at our school for the Deaf in Gooding at the end of January and explained the project. I also explained that we would need enough cottages to house approximately 20 individuals as well as the use of their multi-purpose room for training. He seemed very supportive of this idea and I thought everything was set. Approximately 3 weeks later I heard from the school secretary that we might need to change plans as the summer is when all the maintenance is done on the dorms and we might not be able to use them after all. When the mentoring committee chair and I scratched out the cost for hotels for 20 individuals for three nights I was depressed. I went back to the superintendent and discussed the financial limitations of an event such as this and asked if there was anyway that they could refrain from maintenance for those 3 days out of the entire summer. He seemed amiable to this suggestion and signed an agreement for our project. (Hooray!)

SECTION 7- ISU-IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY- THE HEADACHE SECTION
About the same time that I was getting responses back from certified interpreters I received some questions from Idaho State University. They wanted to know the specifics of my project as they too wanted to establish some type of mentoring arrangement since their 10 graduates would be conducting an 8 week internship before graduating. I shared with them my goals and the people that I was considering training. This did not meet their needs, as they needed seasoned educational interpreters to be the ones mentoring their graduates.

Additionally, there was some "history" between different individuals on the list of my contacts, which would NOT make for a pleasant three-day training. Lastly, they were afraid that mentoring might dissuade working interpreters to go through an ITP. They discussed their vision and what they could bring to the table (of course ANYTHING that any entity could bring to the table was more than I had.) I did not want to eliminate this prospect since they had a long term vision in mind and could very well be the ones to take the ball and run with it (financially and authoritatively) once it was up and going. However, I wasn't sure that I wanted to change my criteria based on their dictates since I wanted to be the one "running the show". At that point I went to another University and asked for their guidance (I happen to teach ASL classes as an adjunct faculty member at both universities.) They suggested that I go back to Idaho State University since they have the Interpreting Training Program and have a vested interest in this type of training. I went back to ISU and discussed their needs (training educational interpreters to mentor other interpreters) and opened up the discussion of criteria since certification would not prove beneficial anymore (of the 71 K-12 educational interpreters in there state I have only identified 3 that are certified.) We designed a matrix that gave points for every category that an individual satisfied.

They would get points for the following: RID or NAD certification, Teaches in ITP, Graduated from ITP, Serves on the Mentoring Committee, Advanced or above on he SLPI, and so forth. It got to be very convoluted and downright murky. The bottom line was the that most of the educational interpreters did not fit into any of the above categories except for the SLPI rating of advanced or above. We decided to use the SLPI score as the criteria. I was excited that we finally had some clarity about some of the invitees. We would train interpreters working in the schools and freelance interpreters on the mentoring committee as well as the department heads of the interpreting training program- This equaling about 20 individuals.

NEWEST TWIST-
The previous section changed the direction of my project immensely. The newest look is- Train 15-20 interpreters with Patty this July at the School for the Deaf in Gooding Idaho. Train 10 or so working interpreters and prepare them to work with the graduates from ISU (I will not oversee that part. They will get the training with Patty and then the ITP Directors will oversee their students' internships in the spring of 2003.) The part that I will oversee will include four rural interpreters and the four interpreters on the mentorship committee. We will run the long distance mentorship techniques that I have used in our course on line. Sarah is compiling a "wish list" and investigating how to accomplish the technological requirements we have. (e.g. I would need a chatroom for the four mentors and mentees to work long distance. Additionally, I have asked her to explore the option of a bulletin board for a centralized meeting of the minds.)

SECTION 8- LINKS TO INTERPRETERS- THE AMAZING SECTION
This was the amazingly time-consuming and amazingly difficult part of the process. It all started when I e-mailed over 90 Special Education Directors to ask for their guidance on how to locate the educational interpreters in Idaho. From this initial quest I was contacted by quite a few folks as well as the KEY to my results- the Special Education Specialist for the state of Idaho. She was able to forward a list of every county that had Deaf or hard of hearing students as well as the number of students (Total- 317 Deaf and or hard of hearing students. 106 Deaf students age 3-21 and 211 Hard of hearing age 3-21.) This gave me 55 different districts (that's better than my initial 93 but still overwhelming.) I probed more. She then sent me a list of all the e-mail addresses of the 93 Special Education Directors. I just needed to match up the county and the e-mail name and send them a letter asking if they had any interpreters there. I kept asking if payroll or another entity would have a list of all the interpreters (or their supervisor) so I could go more direct but she didn't seem to think she had that information.
Therefore I spent hours sending individual e-mails to these 55 special education directors. Approximately half of the responses that I got said they did NOT have any interpreters working for them. Worse yet, the two school districts with the most interpreters (one has 11 and other has 18) did not respond to any of my letters. The good news is that some school districts did respond and or forwarded the letter to their interpreters. I will be going up north Friday April 26 and will be able to network with some of these individuals as well. The last amazing part was receiving e-mails from a couple individuals who signed their name as Sign Language Interpreter but have never taken a sign class in their life- they "learned" from books.

LEFT TO DO- We are still waiting to hear if we got the funding that we requested from RID. If we did not get funded this will change the plans for the fall as we won't have the cameras and technology needed. When we hear about the financial situation we will purchase videocameras and solidify our plans with our four mentees.

SECTION 9-FUNDING- THE UNFINISHED SECTION
The section is fairly busy, as I have attempted to procure funding for this project every way possible.
1. I went to the Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and it was right during the budget cut disaster (make a memoÖnever ask for money during when legislators are cutting the bucks.) They turned me down.
2. I submitted paperwork through Region X IEC (Julie Simon) and got some of the presenter fees covered.
3. IRID submitted the scholarship application to RID but we have yet to hear back from them. (This grant is quite impressive, by the way. I have the utmost respect for our chair of the mentoring committee. I'll keep you posted.)
4. ISU has agreed to provide the technology to burn in CDs from VHS format so we can make use of chatrooms and the phone long distance while mentoring folks up north. ISU has also committed to reproducing the Self-Paced Modules for our participants and purchasing A Plan For Mentorship of Educational Interpreters in Minnesota for each mentor.
5. I contacted Marty Taylor and asked for a discount if we purchase 40 books (20 of each copy). She agreed to give us a discount.
6. I contacted SLICES and asked for a discount as well. They, too, were amiable to this request.
7. I contacted Dawn Sign Press, TJ Publishers, Sign Enhancers, Harris Communication, ADCO and Signs of Development requesting items for door prizes. (It just so happened that I am presenting this weekend up north so I called these companies a few weeks ago and got a truckload of their catalogs to take up there with me as well. I hope to be a good source of publicity for these potential contributors.)
8. Sign Language Services donated over $100.00 worth of Camille Beckman and Bath and Body products for these committed attendees. How else can we pay them back for their time?

TO DO- I will write a letter to Hamilton Telecommunications in Nebraska (their representative for Idaho is on our mentoring committee.) I will request that she come and give us a short training (we are thinking about the need for interpreters to be familiar with relay so they can educate their schools OR invite this representative to train school personnel.)
Additionally I will ask for a cash donation for a door prize. (She will bring note pads, pens etc.) Lastly, I need to get all paperwork lined up for CEUs for the fieldwork. Independent Studies must be approved before the activity begins. (Contact Lynne for Independent Studies info.) Region X will process the other CEUs for training with Patty.
In closing, I will give a wrap up of my project in the format suggested in Course Contents.

DESCRIPTION OF GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THIS PROJECT-
THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS FIVE-FOLD.
1. Provide training for 15-20 interpreters this summer to mentor other interpreters next fall.

A. This training will incorporate specific features of our training through TIEM such as sensitivity to cultural differences ("the lenses"), forms of feedback, relationships, contracts, release of information and a lot of hands on looking for and discussing patterns.

2. Network with interpreters in Idaho needing mentoring and oversee four long distance mentorships.

A. I am still receiving responses about who is interested in being mentored via long distance technology. When the mentees have been identified, the mentors and myself will meet again to discuss the logistics of the fall mentorships. I will share various readings (e.g. Cultural Competence, Vygotsky approach, Demand Control Theory) and set up a weekly theme to discuss based on the readings. (I am not trying to recreate this class, but some of these readings will be extremely beneficial for the mentors involved.) I have worked with this group before on other committees and they are all committed to increased learning and professional development. I have yet to decide where the portfolio concept will play out in this whole scheme of things. We will discuss that at our training this summer.

3. Provide support for educational interpreters who are mentoring ISU soon-to-be graduates in spring of 2003.

A. Due to specific graduation requirements for internships, the mentoring will be under the direct supervision of the Interpreting Training Program Directors. During this time I will continue to avail myself as a support and resource.

4. Lead a weekly discussion with the mentors out in the field during the fall of 2002.

A. I will facilitate the dialogue process during our initial implementation of mentoring long distance (fall 2002.) (Hopefully a bulletin board will be utilized. If not, we will REPLY TO ALL on specific topics during the week.) This will require approximately 3 hours per week.

5. I will conduct two mentorships myself- one long distance and one locally. I want to be familiar with what the other mentors are going through. This will require not less than 6 hours per week.TO DO- Solidify the chat room and bulletin board capabilities for the fall with Sarah.

RATIONALE FOR THE APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHIES-
The mentorship training will put in place philosophies for self guided learning. The relationship between mentor and mentee will be one that endorses Vygotskian thinking which encourages the mentee to lead the journey to independent learning. It is a quest that enables the mentee to free him/herself from the mindset that the mentor has all the knowledge from which the mentee should partake. It is about dialogue, probing, introspection and discovery. In addition to the probing and discovering we will also bring controls to the table that an interpreter may utilize in their work. Thus, we will attempt to lead the mentee to a place of empowerment where s/he can introduce controls on the conditions of their workplace. Stress seems to be inextricably linked to the amount of controls one brings to bear on their situation.

TIME LINE FOR PROJECT-
1. Training with Patty Gordon is July 19-21.
2. Dialogue with all players between July and September when mentoring begins.
3. Oversee mentorships fall 2002. Provide support spring 2003.
4. Fall 2002 until successful- investigate how to procure funding to offer mentoring for more individuals throughout the state and pay mentors for their work.

DESCRIPTION OF PARTICIPANTS
1. 2 Directors of Interpreting Training Programs (one is the Idaho's Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing's Interpreter Representative.)
2. 4 Interpreters on the IRID Mentoring Committee (one is the Relay representative)
3. 2 Educational Interpreters from ISDB
4. 8 educational interpreters K-12

DESCRIPTION OF LOCATION/SETTING
1. Training will take place at the school for the Deaf in Gooding Idaho (about 1.5 hours out of Boise.)
2. Mentoring relationships will take place all over the state of Idaho with a heavy concentration in the southern part of the state where the Interpreting Training Program is located and through long distance technology based in Boise, Idaho.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAYERS INVOLVED-
1. Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind will provide lodging and the training site.
2. Idaho State University will provide finances for purchase of books and will provide burn in capability for our CDs.
3. Idaho Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf will donate finances for materials.

DISCUSS ALL THE NECESSARY LOGISTICS- WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
1. At this time I have several issues to wrap up.. I have yet to identify exactly who will be mentored this fall via long distance technology. I am going up north on Friday to meet with individuals and then I will contact their supervisors. I have a handful of interested parties. (We are waiting to secure funding for equipment before making promises.)
2. I need to resend a letter to Special Education Directors and remind them of my quest. (The more the SBOE can see my name and my project the better.)
3. I have selected a local interpreter to mentor- I need to discuss the logistics with her supervisor.

DISCUSSION OF HOW YOU WILL EVALUATE THE SUCCESS/EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR PROJECT.
I will assess the effectiveness of the mentoring training via weekly e-mails (and hopefully bulletin boards) as well as end of the semester evaluation as supplied in A Plan for Mentorship of Educational Interpreters in Minnesota which every mentor will have from the training. I will request a copy of all evaluations to be sent to me for review. Additionally, I will draft a form to send to mentors and mentees to discuss the efficacy of the complete mentorship program. My goal is to procure funding to on going mentoring so development suggestions will be a great tool for me to use.

The purpose behind evaluations and on going dialogue about efficacy will be to improve the overall process and to enhance the learning outcomes for mentees and mentors. Thus we will be indirectly serving our Deaf and hard of hearing students more successfully. This IS the purpose behind what we are doing, right?

OTHER INFORMATION THAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE RELEVANT
I have been involved with recent and longstanding developments for the Deaf in Idaho (SLPI, Standards for Educational Interpreters, Kevin Williams/EIPA etc.) In light of the recent article in the VIEWs regarding RID's possible involvement with OSEP's reauthorization of the IDEA as well as California's quest for interpreters to be certified in the future, our field is clearly seeking higher standards for educational interpreters. Many interpreters in Idaho interpreters need help. They need tools, guidance and relationship. This is what mentoring brings to the table. This is what I can bring to interpreters.

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Interpreting PACE: Performance Assessment for Career Enhancement

My project has changed dramatically since I have been presented with an opportunity to potentially provide services to a stateís Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). However, as I am writing this, the agreement has not been finalized so for the purposes of this paper, I will refer to the contracting agency as DVR. My plan, should the DVR plan not reach fruition, will be to apply this plan to a regional group of interpreters and to conduct the program through my company. For the sake of this paper, I will discuss my plans to work with mentors in the state and revise accordingly should the plan shift to working with interpreters in my own region.

Goals
The goals for this program will be

1.) to provide comprehensive training to a group of Deaf and hearing people who will, in turn, become mentors
2.) to provide ongoing support for these mentors.
3.) to indirectly enable mentors to work with thirty mentees - interpreters in the state (both community and educational-based.

Objectives
Objectives to achieve the aforementioned goals will include -

Mentors will:

• Gain exposure and understand techniques of assessment.
• Learn strategies to provide effective coaching and feedback.
• Define and formulate a reporting process to use with this program.
• Be exposed and demonstrate effective one-to-one and group mentoring.
• Develop a training plan that addresses the individual needs and scaffolds the learning process for mentees.
• Identify training techniques and resources.
• Be able to write effective lesson plans.
• Structure the learning processes and plan in order to prepare for mentees' obtaining or upgrading certification.
• Embrace the need and draft a plan for a portfolio for their mentees including components such as language, interpreting, ethics, and identification of short-term/current position and long-term/career goals.

Rationale
As with my business, my ultimate goal and overriding philosophy of mentoring can best be demonstrated by our mission which is to participate in the advancement of the profession of Sign Language interpreting. While my business focus is more global, mentoring brings it to a more individualistic level. The concept of training mentors who will, in turn, mentor 4 or 5 mentees per year achieves this mission by increasing the number of people who benefit exponentially. Mentoring, in this fashion, is far more effective and productive than my ability to provide one-to-one mentoring. In a sense, I become the mentor to those who are learning to become mentors.

The approach I will take with this training is to provide tools and resources subsumed in the concept of ongoing guidance, coaching, and mentoring. As the research has proven, one-time training is the least effective with a recall rate of only 10% after 30 days.

Without the ability to transfer the newly-acquired knowledge and skills, they are likely to be forgotten when they are most needed. This has been one of the guiding principles of providing workshops on CD Rom.

Likewise, mentoring training needs to have the ability to apply the concepts learned over a period of time. Similar to this one-year mentoring program, I plan to provide the mentors with a base amount of information and through online dialogues as they begin to put their new skills and knowledge into practice, we will constantly guide each other with techniques and strategies that have been effective (or not so) and problems as they begin and continue work with their mentees in the community.

Duration of Program
This program for the mentors and mentees will be ongoing; however, my involvement in this process will begin September, 2002 and conclude mid-December, 2002. The listserv established to dialogue with the mentors will remain (beyond my participation in the program) to facilitate their continued support and dialogue among the mentors.
Description of the Participants For the purposes of this program (and paper), I am referring to the people who are involved in the training and ongoing guidance through the listserv as ìmentorsî and the people who they, in turn, providing mentoring to as "mentees".

DVR will select the mentors and work out the logistical issues of getting the selected mentors to training in early September. DVR will be responsible for stipends for the selected mentors for the training time and payment for their work with mentees. Very shortly after the selection of the mentors, DVR will begin the selection process of mentees. The criteria for the selection of the mentees will be a DVR decision with input from me.

Selection criteria
Mentors will be composed of a group of veteran interpreters and members of the Deaf community. A group of 10-12 will be selected by the DVR (the funding source for this project.) While I, as the facilitator of the program, will not have specific oversight of the selection of mentors or mentees, I will have reasonable input into their selection (especially the mentors.) Personal characteristics or traits of potential mentors (identified by personal knowledge, references or any other means by which the DVR has at their disposal to identify such traits) should include feminist-relational qualities including empowerment, support, cooperation, valuing personal experience, listening, and consensus-building (Karlin, B & Eighinger, L; Feminist-Relational Approach: A Social Construct for Event Management, 2001) and respect for confidentiality for the process, the mentees and the information obtained through this project. In order to ensure confidentiality, the Mentor will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to participate. (Appendix E)

Mentees, approximately five per mentor, will also be selected by DVR from a pool of community- and educational-based interpreters. These interpreters will be those who are currently working and either possess no credential or a lower-level state or NAD level. I will have a smaller degree of input into the selection of the mentees, however, my suggestions for the personal characteristics or traits of mentees will be that they are self-starters and have proof of motivation to acquire professional development, open-minded (to both new strategies and feedback), committed to the process and to the mentor/mentee relationships, and able to establish and maintain goals and all that is required to meet those goals.

In order to be qualified to participate in this Mentor project, the Mentee will be responsible for obtaining the appropriate consent in order for the Mentor to have access to the work, consumers, and necessary information to provide meaningful feedback and mentoring. To facilitate this, the Mentee must obtain a release for all who may be even incidentally involved in this process. (Appendix F)

Location & Setting
For the initial three-day training, the location will be a state-owned facility to be determined by the DVR. Mentors will be provided with room and board by the State. The length of the training daily shall be 8 hours per day with pre-readings assigned and homework given in the evening for mentors to work on after hours.

The subsequent online component of the project will be via a listserv established to communicate weekly with mentors as they go out into the field and begin to apply the knowledge and skills obtained. Mentors will be expected to post at least once per week to check in. Even if there were no problems or activities, the mentors will be required to check in to assist their mentor classmates with problems they might encounter. A requirement of one posting per week will ensure mentors are providing and obtaining support with their fieldwork.

Logistics
Subsequent to the selection of mentors and mentees, the process to match mentors to mentees will occur. The primary criterion for this placement is proximity and those that are geographically proximal will be grouped. There will be overlap in the mentor-to-mentees assignments as each mentee will have the benefit of having one Deaf and one hearing mentor. Each Deaf mentor, with this process, will have the opportunity to team with each hearing mentor and obviously, vice versa.

Mentors will be required to have a television and VCR in order to watch tapes submitted by their mentees. Mentees must have access to a video camcorder, tapes and a tripod and obtain waivers in order to videotape their work in the settings in which they typically work.

Note: CEUs will be provided for all applicable participants in this process by Signs of Development.

All participants will be provided with a certificate upon completion - Mentors & Mentees.

The training provided to the mentors will consist of three days and will involve:
Mentor Training
Day 1 Assessment Coaching/Feedback Reporting One-to-One Group Mentoring
Day 2 Planning Training Scaffolding Training Training Techniques Training Resources Lesson Planning
Day 3 Preparation for Certification Portfolios Logistics (assignment of mentors) Project Discussion

The process for this is cyclical: Career (long-term) & Current Position (short-term) skill gaps Assessment Prioritize gaps and Identify Training needs Professional Development Coaching & Feedback (ongoing throughout the process) Back to Skill Gaps Assessment and so on.

According to this cycle, mentors will be expected to meet with mentees (teams will meet together with their assigned mentors) within the first two weeks upon completion of the training. Prior to this meeting, both mentors will send an introductory letter to the prospective mentee for whom they have been assigned to define the process, encourage the mentee to develop some long-term career goals and short-term current position goals, to establish e-mail contact which will assist in identifying a date/time/place for the initial mentors/mentee meeting and which will serve as the primary mode of communication mode between meetings.

The initial meeting will be a discussion among the three (Deaf mentor, hearing mentor and mentee) to assist the mentee in solidifying career and position goals which will lead to a contractual agreement, portfolio development, and the development of a professional development plan. The mentors will define their unique roles (Deaf mentor focused on signed languages used and the product of an English-to-ASL interpretation or English-to-Signed English transliteration and the hearing mentor is responsible for the product related to English which includes the product of English in interpreting from ASL-to-English or Signed English-to-English and written English.)

The portfolio will be discussed and the mentors will provide the mentee with a list of criteria and a detailed description of samples which should be included (see Appendix D "Portfolio Criteria Checklist Matrix"):

• Formal & Informal samples of the menteeís use of language in both ASL (or Signed English) and English as well as a submission of both formal and informal written English.
• Formal & Informal samples of the mentees work in both ASL/Signed English-to-English, English-to-ASL/Signed English.
• Submissions in each of the interpreting categories must be in settings when the predominant language used varies (see Appendix D "Portfolio Criteria Checklist Matrix".)
• Samples should be tied to the current position and career goals as much as possible.
• Samples should be clear and of good quality (audible and visible.)
• Samples should have a written English translation/transcription.
• Samples should be 5 to 10 minutes in length.
• At least one of the submissions should be from a non-staged event.
• Submissions should be identified as "best work"or "work in progress"as determined and defined by the mentee.

Mentees will be required to compile and submit a language and component of the portfolio. The submissions will occur in stages to allow the assessment process to begin as soon as possible. Mentors and mentees will assess the segments independently and simultaneously. Upon completion of the entire assessment process, mentors and mentees will meet to discuss the assessments and develop a PACE plan.

Mentees are aware that the submissions for this portfolio are the bases for the assessment from which the feedback will be derived. The portfolio will be developed and submitted in pieces so as to expedite and facilitate the assessment process. Both mentors and mentees will assess the portfolios simultaneously. Mentees will be required to do a self-assessment of their portfolio submissions to develop three strengths and three skill gaps (gaps between where they should be and where they perceive themselves currently.) Using a set of transcription symbols, mentees will mark a copy of their transcripts/translations to indicate what is seen/heard (with an attempt to remove any judgments or corrections of the work produced.) Mentees will use transcription symbols provide in Appendix D "Guidelines for Transcribing"with guidance from the Mentors.

Upon completion of the assessment process, the mentors will meet with the mentee to discuss their assessments and to develop a professional development plan (see Appendix A) which includes identification and prioritization of skill gaps (from the major features) and at least one from each category: knowledge-rich and -lean skills (Appendix B) and non-technical dimensions including business skills for those who are community interpreters, professional skills, ethical applications and cultural information.

Upon identifying the skill gaps, mentors/mentee will mutually develop not more than three skills upon which to focus and determine a timeframe for each skill to be addressed. Some skills may require far less time to narrow gaps than others. Prioritizing gaps will enable the mentee to achieve success and revise the dynamic professional plan, replace gaps that have been closed, and focus on other identified gaps with lesser priority.

Mentors and mentees will work to determine appropriate training. The mentee must agree to attend/acquire training that solely relates to the PACE plan. Mentees and mentors will touch base on a weekly basis to discuss any problems or assistance they might need. Mentees shall make arrangements for the mentors to observe the interpreter in a live setting at least once per month for one hour. Mentors may elect to visit separately or together depending upon the setting and the mentorsí schedules. A total of five on-site observations will be made throughout the year. Mentees will be required to obtain consent agreements from any consumers whose image or voice is captured on video or audiotape and to permit mentors to observe the menteeís work. (Appendix F)

Mentors will be provided training on appropriate coaching and feedback techniques. All efforts should be made to guide and not teach. The mentors will be exposed to the Vygotsky approach to interaction with their mentees with role-playing to help them begin to apply the ìquestioningî and ìlisteningî techniques. Subsequent online discussions will assist mentors in sharing successes, effective techniques, and perfect their use of the Vygotsky approach.

The mentors will work with mentees on ethical issues through their ongoing meetings with them and via e-mail contact. This process can begin immediately while the mentee is expected to obtain consents for videotaping of unstaged work. Through this process, mentees are encouraged to discuss any existing ethical dilemmas immediately and throughout the life of the project.

The mentors will also be trained on reporting processes (both to the mentee and to the DVR.) Summary reports shall be provided to the DVR. These reports shall include the amount of time involved in providing services to the five assigned mentees (including preparation time, mentor meetings, online listserv discussion, and e-mail correspondence.) Another component of the summary report shall be the prioritized training needs and the recommendation for regional training to be provided by the DVR. After DVR compiles the reports of all mentors, the department will establish a series of four professional development activities targeting the skill gaps identified as the top two prioritized. The goal will be to provide a basic and advanced professional development activity on each of the two identified in various regions of the state. The final report to DVR will provide measurable results from the mentorsí work (e.g., closed skill gaps, upgraded certifications, etc.)

Mentors will also assist mentees in identifying professional development activities which can be conducted on their own such as videotapes and CD Roms available for Sign Language interpreters. Mentors are encouraged to establish training to be provided in small groups with mentors in nearby regions. Training will be provided on developing training and identifying resources to use for curriculum development as well as meeting the needs of adult learners including developing the training to meet the variety of ways that adult learners best acquire information. The use of the ìSelf-Paced Modules for Educational Interpreter Skill Developmentî will be strongly encouraged. The facilitator will provide ongoing guidance and assistance via the listserv for the development of targeted training for mentees.

Payment for this project will be provided by the DVR. A one-time payment will be made to the presenter and a modest regular payment will be made for ongoing monitoring and participation in the listserv.

Timeline
Planning for this three-day training will begin the Summer of 2002 while the selection of the mentors and mentees takes place. Preparation will include developing a comprehensive packet of information including a pre-reading packet, professional development plan, example portfolio, recommended training materials, and sample feedback report and summary report.

The project will begin in September (with planning to take place during the Summer, 2002.) The conclusion of my part of the project will be in December, 2002.

However, the project is encouraged and likely to continue through the end of May, 2003. (Appendix D ìTimelineî) I will likely continue to monitor the listserv and participate in the discussion.

Resources for Mentors
Mentors will be required to obtain copies of both of Dr. Marty Taylor's books: "Interpretation Skills: English to American Sign Language"and "Interpretation Skills: American Sign Language to English"as well as "A Plan for Mentorship of Educational Interpreters in Minnesota"by Patty Gordon and Mari Magler. Mentors will also be provided with a copy of "Self-Paced Modules for Educational Interpreter Skill Development."

Evaluation Process
A formal evaluation will be conducted at the conclusion of the three-day initial training. Ongoing evaluation by the mentors will occur by the use of e-mail and listserv discussion. Mid-cycle (November 1, 2002) evaluations by the mentees will be conducted by an e-mail survey. A final survey will be conducted of all mentors, mentees and DVR at the conclusion of the cycle (December 5, 2002). The project is encouraged to continue and my involvement may continue in the form of listserv discussion, support, coaching and feedback of the mentors. (Appendix G)

For my own purposes, I will keep a journal on my feelings as the project progresses. Prior to reviewing the evaluations, I will draft a final narrative evaluation of the project based largely on my ongoing journal entries (prior to reading the evaluations from the participants to ensure that parts of my feedback are based solely on my perceptions of how the project went.) Upon reading the evaluations, I will provide further comments based on the participants' evaluations which will then include my perceptions with consideration of the mentorsí and mentees' comments. SWOT Analysis This SWOT analysis is being conducted as of the project's current state: unstable since the agreement to provide this project has not been finalized.

With that in mind:
Strengths
An existing infrastructure in the form of Signs of Development's available presenters, training opportunities and resources, staff, marketing, distribution, and the ability to create training to meet the needs of the participants. My own personal program/project development and administration experience. The ability to offer CEUs to participants.
Weaknesses Time is always the greatest threat for myself and staff who will provide support for the project. With this knowledge, steps are being made to handle a bulk of the planning portion of this project during the Summer when my schedule is largely lighter.

Opportunities
The availability of trained mentors is minimal. The existing and impending certification/licensing requirements for many interpreters nationwide.

Threats
Thus far, an agreement has not been signed.

While it looks very promising, the organization and area of the people to work with may have to be fundamentally altered and the program slightly redesigned during the early Summer months which will require I assume the responsibility for marketing and selection and payment of mentors/mentees.

Appendices
Appendix A Professional Development Plan and Contract
Appendix B Knowledge-Rich and -Lean Skills & Features
Appendix C Guidelines for Transcribing
Appendix D Excel Spreadsheet - Contents:

Portfolio Criteria Checklist Matrix Timeline (Summer, 2002 through May, 2003) Training (3 day breakdown)
Mentor/Mentee Matches

Appendix E Confidentiality Agreement
Appendix F Release Form
Appendix G Evaluation Forms

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Project Three:

The Project and Start/End Dates:
During the 2002/2003 school year, I will provide mentoring to educational interpreters working in the K-12 setting in a rural area. At the same time, I will mentor a certified interpreter who will eventually become a mentor in the K-12 setting as well. This project will begin in August, 2002 and continue through June, 2003.

The Setting:
I will be mentoring approximately 10 educational interpreters who work in a rural section of northern California. The interpreters work in a variety of settings within the county. The settings include: a Deaf program in a high school, a Deaf program in an elementary school, a mainstream setting in a high school and a mainstream setting in an elementary school. There are a wide variety of students in these settings with varying ethnic backgrounds, educational levels, and signing skills.

The Participants:
The interpreters I will be mentoring range in age from 22 to 62 and they have a variety of experience and educational backgrounds. Some have completed an Interpreter Training Program (ITP), some are currently in an ITP, and others have no training at all. Two-thirds of the interpreters have deaf family members (parents, children, or siblings).

The certified interpreter I will be mentoring is a very skilled freelance interpreter who lives in a rural area. She has her CI & CT from RID. She had not considered doing mentoring until I approached her about the idea. She is now very excited about the prospect of learning to be a mentor as well as adding to her skill set and ability to have another avenue for income.

The County Administration is very supportive of this project. The Director of Special Education realizes that interpreters are special people with unique skills. She also recognizes the Countyís inability to effectively mentor and evaluate this group of employees without hiring an outside consultant. The County administrators want to ensure they are providing quality services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in their schools.

Goals and Objectives:
The goal of this project is two-fold - "Mentor the Mentees" and "Mentor the Mentor." The first goal is to provide mentoring services to a population of interpreters who rarely get an opportunity for mentoring and professional growth in their local area. The other goal is to train a colleague to eventually provide the same services as I do in educational settings in rural areas.

During the school year I will conduct monthly or bi-monthly meetings with the interpreters. We will discuss a variety of topics at each meeting. These topics will include ASL vocabulary, features of transliterating, ethical situations, processing time and short-term memory improvement, interpreting resources (books, tapes, etc.) and a variety of subjects based on the needs of the group.

I will conduct one classroom observation of each interpreter. After the observation, I will have a meeting with the interpreter to discuss my findings. I will also do a diagnostic evaluation of each interpreterís skills. I will videotape the interpreter interpreting a pre-selected audio lecture. I will use the transcript of the presentation to make notes about the observations I have about their work. I will then write an assessment of their work and share this report with the interpreter and their supervisor. The report will focus on two strengths and two areas that need improvement.
The last phase of the mentoring program will be to develop a professional development plan for the interpreters. I will meet with the interpreters individually to discuss their goals. I will combine their personal goals with areas that I have noted in their observation and evaluation reports and incorporate all of this information into their professional development plan.

Throughout this project, the certified interpreter will be with me observing and learning the mentoring techniques I employ. I will conduct formal trainings with her as well as have informal discussions of everything she is seeing, learning, and experiencing. She will attend the monthly meetings with me, will be present at one-on-one meetings with interpreters (with approval of the interpreter), will be present at classroom observations, and will work with me on all reports submitted to the interpreters and the County. Ratonale for Approach/Philosophy: Each of the participant groups has different needs to meet during this project. My goal is to meet the needs of all parties by structuring the mentoring project in a way that will be diverse enough to satisfy all of the participants.

The County, which is paying for the program, needs to be addressed first. Without the Countyís support, there would be no program. The County administration wants several things. They want to have a way to evaluate the skills of this group of employees with specialized skill sets. They also want this group of employees to feel appreciated and respected for what they offer to the County, schools, teachers, and students. They want to know what resources to provide their employees as well as what professional development activities are necessary to improve the skills of the interpreters. The interpreters have a multitude of needs as well. They all want to improve their interpreting skills. They want to have a plan that will help them focus their energies on their professional growth. The interpreters want to meet as a group to discuss ethical situations and vocabulary. They also want one-on-one time with a mentor to discuss their goals.

The certified interpreter who I will be mentoring has unique needs that I am hoping to be able to satisfy. She is excited about learning how to become a mentor, but feels she lacks any knowledge whatsoever about mentoring. This will be one of my biggest challenges. I believe the approach I am taking in this mentoring project will eventually lead to an end result where all parties will have their needs met. The reports I send to the County about my classroom observations and diagnostic evaluations will give them information to be used in the interpreter evaluations. The information they desire about resources will be ascertained from the monthly meetings with the interpreters. I also believe these interpreters will feel appreciated and respected just by the fact that their County is having a mentor work with them, providing them with needed resources and an avenue to network with each other as professional peers.

I believe the interpretersí needs will be met by receiving feedback from me after my observations of their work; having time to talk with me after each observation and during our one-on-one meetings; receiving a professional development plan; and meeting as a group with me each month.

The certified interpreter I will be mentoring will also have her needs met by attending the monthly meetings with me; learning how to do observations and evaluations; meeting with me individually to discuss approaches to mentoring; and just being exposed to the process from beginning to end.

Logistics:
Contract/Payment: I will schedule a meeting with the County administration some time in the next two months to discuss my contract for the 2002/2003 school year. I will take an outline of my proposed activities along with the rationale and cost for each activity for the purposes of the contract negotiations.

Mentoring Agreement: I will write up a "Mentoring Agreement"for the mentees and I to sign that will outline what the expectations will be for each of us during the project. This agreement will be signed at the August In-Service which will be our first meeting of the school year.

Interpreter Staff Meetings: I will contact the County office to reserve conference rooms for the meetings. I will set the dates for all of the meetings at our August in-service day. I will e-mail the meeting schedule to the interpreters, their supervisor and the Director of Special Education. I will be communicating regularly with the interpreters and administration at meetings as well as via e-mail about topics they would like to discuss at each staff meeting.

Classroom Observations: I will schedule the observations with each interpreter during the year. I will ask them to notify the classroom teacher and student to prepare them for my visit. I will send an e-mail to the interpreter to confirm the appointment. When my observation report is completed, I will forward a copy to the interpreter and his/her supervisor.

Diagnostic Evaluations: I will schedule the videotaping date with each interpreter during the year. I will ask them to reserve a quiet room for the videotaping and to get a TV/VCR for the room. I will send an e-mail to confirm the date. I will charge up my video camera and make sure I have blank tapes as well as the tape for the source message. I will make arrangements for the source tape to be transcribed so I have a transcript of the presentation to work from.

When my report of the evaluation is completed, I will forward a copy to the interpreter and his/her supervisor.
Professional Development Plan meetings: I will schedule the meeting dates with each interpreter after I have completed both of their reports. I will ask the interpreter to reserve a room for a meeting. Once the professional development plan is complete, I will forward a copy to the interpreter and his/her supervisor.

Meetings with the Certified Interpreter: I will notify this interpreter about all dates scheduled with the County interpreters. If these dates work with her schedule, then we will discuss when and where to meet. I will then schedule meetings with her to work on the reports together as well as to discuss our progress during the project. I am intentionally leaving this section flexible and unstructured because I want this process to work in a way that is easy and productive for this person. I will observe her learning style and plan our training accordingly.

Project Evaluation: I will write up an evaluation that is based on the mentoring agreement that the mentees and I signed at the beginning of the year. It will give the interpreters and I an opportunity to evaluate if I satisfied my agreement as well as evaluate if they satisfied their part of the agreement. I will also give an evaluation to the county administrator that will ascertain if they are satisfied with my services and if they feel I am fulfilling my contractual requirements. The fact that an evaluation will be done will be shared with the interpreters and administrator in the beginning of the year when we sign the ìMentoring Agreement.î At the end of the year, this evaluation will be sent to the interpreters and administrator via mail or e-mail. It will have a due date of two weeks after receipt of the evaluation form. I will ask that the interpreters send their forms to the county administrator. I will then schedule a meeting with her to review the evaluations.

My evaluation form for each interpreter will be sent to the interpreter directly. A summary of these evaluations will be given to the administrator.

Information from the Master Mentoring Certificate Program that will be utilized during this Project: I would need 10-12 more pages to describe everything I have learned in the program so far that I will utilize in my field work. Instead, I will tell you about the "mental committee"I have decided to form that will guide me along this journey. The only requirement for being a committee member is to have been my teacher in the Master Mentor Certificate Program.

Gary Sanderson will chair the ìInterpreter Interactionî Committee. His main duty will be to remind me of the characteristics of effective mentors he taught us about last semester. Members of his committee will be Laurent Daloz and Robert Lee whose job it will be to poke me if I forget about the different stages of learning that adults go through and the stages of interpreter development. Jan Nishimura, Anthony Aramburo and Lynch & Hanson will be on the committee as well. Their job will be to help me work on my cultural competence and mentor me how to teach this to the mentees.

Robyn Dean, Brenda Schick, and all of my classmates will be in the ìStaff Meeting Committee.î Their duties will include helping me work on the topics to be discussed at the interpreter staff meetings, such as the Demand-Control Theory and the EIPA assessment tool.

Dennis Cokely will chair the "Evaluation, Feedback and Professional Development"committee. Sandra Gish, Marty Taylor, Gary Sanderson, and Sharon Neumann-Solow will serve on this committee. Marty will help me design my observation and evaluation reports. Sandra will help me come up with the right questions to ask when meeting one-on-one with the interpreters. Gary and Sharon will assist me with the methods of giving feedback I will utilize.

Lynne Eighinger will chair the "Business Committee"and will help me with the business aspects of my project. Finally, Betsy Winston will serve as a consultant to the project and will ensure that all of the committee chairs and members remind me of everything they have taught me during this program!

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Project Four:

"MENTOR THE MENTORS"
TRAINING PROJECT PROPOSAL

APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHIES
The approach taken in the design of this project is based on the "Each One, Teach One"pedagogical tradition prevalent among culturally distinct communities. On my journey through an Interpreter Training Program, the National Interpreter Training Consortium, the Interpreting in the American Judicial System program, the Interpreting in the Theatre training as well as the Master Mentor Program, I rarely had the pleasure of having people of color as my primary instructor(s). I desire fellow emerging or experienced mentors to have that experience by means of my ìfor us, by usî training presented by competent Deaf and Hearing mentor educators. In addition to being grounded from years of experience working cross culturally, these trainers are committed to providing excellence in the field of American Sign Language-English Interpretation while contributing to its advancement. As to the philosophy behind the gathering of twelve Deaf and Hearing Interpreters from diverse cultural communities for this project ñ it is a grand opportunity for each of us to celebrate in concert who we are in this world of Interpreting, Deaf Folk and Hearing Folk.

It is a given that people of color must have competence in the "mainstream American culture"in order to succeed in education, the business world, the field of Interpreting/Interpreter Education, and indeed in Life.

Out of over 3,800 Interpreters certified by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf in this country less than 10 percent are ìof colorî, an indisputably disproportionate sum. In response to this anomaly, the ìMentor the Mentorsî training, an innovative career elevation adventure, is being offered. This assembly of folk from various cultures gives us the occasion as a group to explore the multi-layered, multi-faceted aspects of each otherís cultures as well as delve deeper into our own heritage and history as it relates to becoming professional mentors to one another and others - a relatively new facet in our field.

GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
GOAL:
Provide an opportunity for Interpreters who are People of Color and are emerging or experienced mentors to expand their theoretical knowledge base and increase their skills in mentorship.

Objectives:
I. Identify and recruit culturally diverse interpreters to be involved in the project.

A. Activities:

1. Identified and contacted listservs under the auspices of ManoaMano, ITOC and NAOBI.
2. Identified and approached associations with connections to Deaf & Hearing Interpreters of Color such as California Latino Council of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing, Deaf Aztlan, InterTribal Deaf Council, NAD, NAD-Multicultural Advisory Board, NADC, NBDA, NMIP and the RID-Deaf Caucus.
3. Sent initial appraisal to explore the need for training in mentorship skills. 4. Sent out preliminary notice of proposed content of the mentorship training.

B. Outcomes:

1. Compiled tentative class roster based on responses and recommendations.
2. Compiled list of ideas gathered from responses to notice of proposed course content.

II. Provide a forum for addressing concerns and providing moral support.

A. Activities

1. Address questions and concerns of prospective participants before final selection.
2. Address questions and concerns of participants throughout the project.

B. Outcomes:

1. Compilation of final class roster upon ascertaining their commitment to the completion of all components of the project.
2. Compilation of list of alternatives should there be attrition before the start of the second online course.

III. Secure qualified trainers for the onsite segment.

A. Activities:

1. Consult Interpreter Educators as to their experience as or recommendation for trainers.
2. Peruse presenter directories for educators listing mentorship training as their expertise.

B. Outcomes:

1. Compiled list of prospects and engaged three trainers for onsite portion of the project.
2. Compiled list of assistant(s) to volunteer during onsite portion of the project.

IV. Secure incentives to encourage participation in the training and serve as a conduit for participantsí receipt of fiscal sponsorship.

A. Activities:

1. Initiate application for CEUs for trainers and participants.
2. Identify funding sources.
3. Sent request for funds to Teaching Interpreter Educators & Mentors grant holder.
4. Sent request for funds to National Distance Learning Center grant holder.
5. Sent request for funds or materials to agencies in the field of deafness, interpreting and rehabilitation.
6. Sent requests for funds from associations established for the Deaf community and for People of Color.
7. Sent request for funds to national charitable organizations.
8. Sent request to producers of cd-rom, text and video resources in the fields of American Sign Language/Deaf Studies, Interpretation and Multicultural studies.

B. Outcomes:

1. Obtained information needed to conclude application process for CEUs.
2. Secured funding from the Teaching Interpreter Education & Mentors grant holder.
3. Secured project equipment, facilities, funds to cover travel, housing, instructor training, meals, materials and in-kind contributions from the National Distance Learning Center grant holder.
4. Secured a contribution from an association established for Deaf people.
5. Secured a contribution from producers of cd-rom and/or video resources in the field of American Sign Language/Deaf Studies and Interpretation.

V. Provide requisite pre-orientation training on the use of a web delivery system of instruction.

A. Activities

1. Arrange to receive training on the use of WebCT as an online instruction tool.
2. Obtain permission to revise current course to fit the needs of my project.

B. Outcomes:

1. Received permission for taking training on the use of WebCT as an online instruction tool.
2. Received permission to modify certain aspects of the current course offering to fit the needs of my project.
3. Received an in-kind contribution of server host licensing fee and registration/technical facilitation for the semester.
4. Received permission to enroll project participants in NDLC's pre-orientation course. that will provide:

a. Acclimation to the technical skills needed to collaborate at a distance
b. Familiarization with the format & technology behind WebCT
c. assistance in understanding what it means to be an adult learner, identify their learning style and develop strategies to help them in their learning
d. Guidance in identifying challenges or life choices they face as an adult student and in forming a plan for success as a way of fending off attrition
e. Tutelage in developing a list of local community resources
f. An opportunity to share information regarding their cultural background, multicultural competence, entrÈe into the field, training experiences as an interpreter & mentor, reasons for wanting to be a part of this project and expectations of this training.

VI. Provide requisite orientation to mentoring course via WebCT delivery system of instruction.

A. Activities

1. Review course materials from Master Mentoring program to decide on content.
2. Review course materials from National Multicultural Interpreting Program.
3. Review initial list of ideas for course content based on preliminary notice of proposed content distributed to prospective candidates.
4. Discuss proposed course content with trainers.
5. Begin solidification of Orientation to Mentoring course content with aim of allowing participants to take stock of why they want to be a mentor, gain a grasp of what we can realistically accomplish or broach within the period set for the project, acquire a feel for the breadth of experience the trainers bring to this project and complete an online literature search & review.

B. Outcomes:

1. Received permission to receive training on the use of WebCT to present the "Orientation to Mentoring" mini-course.
2. Received an in-kind contribution of server host licensing fee, registration and technical facilitation for the semester.
3. Received permission to enroll project participants in the Orientation to Mentoring course that will equip them with:

a. Pre-readings - (some resources are tentative pending permission to use and curriculum development) regarding criticality of reflective listening skills, Dean and Pollard's demand-control schema's effect on the interpreting task and its applications with our current Code of Ethics, the ramifications of mentors & mentees understanding/misunderstanding one another's Weltanschauung, cross-cultural multicultural competency, assessment tools, the Readiness-To-Work gap of ITP graduates, the use of portfolios for mentors & mentees, teaching self-assessment and mapping skills, integration/process and interaction/inservice models of the Interpreting Profession, elicitation techniques, current theoretical framework & terminology of linguistic & cultural mediation, general mentoring roles and principles.

b. A forum for group discussion of the readings and their past experiences as mentors and mentees.

VII. Serve as co-trainer during an onsite intensive seminar.

A. Activities:

1. Initiate and engage in collaborative curriculum development.
2. Initiate and engage in collaborative creation of group activities.

B. Outcomes:

1. Beginnings of a well-rounded curriculum which will open the way for:

a. Exposure to/application of/cultural adaptation of approaches to mentoring, discussion of challenges inherent in developing and maintaining a mentoring relationship, deliberation of effects of language skills and attitude on one's success as an Interpreter, brainstorming ways to talk about "the work"as Deaf mentors or Hearing mentors with fellow interpreters and consideration of how the Vygotskyvian oeuvre can be utilized in mediating that process.

VIII. Provide requisite closing course through the WebCT delivery system of instruction.

A. Activities:

1. Provide a forum for a post-training evaluation of the project by the participants
2. Provide a forum for a post-training evaluation of the project by the trainers
3. Provide a forum to share instances of field testing what was learned and through the power of these personal experiences challenge one another to raise the bar for beginning interpreters by becoming master mentors.
4. Provide a forum for continued discussion & networking.
5. Provide an opportunity to share resources
6. Provide a forum for contemplation and discussion of business practices for mentors.

B. Outcomes:

1. Short-term: Individually quantifiable augmentation of theoretical knowledge base and growth in their aptitude for providing mentoring.
2. Short-term: Increase the pool of Deaf and Hearing Interpreters from diverse cultures trained to provide mentorship.
3. Long-term: Increase the numbers of Deaf and Hearing Interpreters from diverse cultures who seek a mentorship.
4. Long-term: Increase the number of competent Deaf and hearing Interpreters from diverse cultures who seek and obtain nationally recognized certification.

TIMELINE

I. August 19 - September 13, 2002: pre-orientation training via WebCT on the use of WebCT as the web delivery system of instruction.

II. September 24 - October 19, 2002: orientation to mentoring course via WebCT.III. November 14 - 15, 2002: intensive face-to-face seminar.IV. November 17 ñ December 2, 2002: closing forum for discussion and evaluation.

TRAINERS AND PARTICIPANTS
Throughout "MENTOR THE MENTORS"there will be three trainers and an assistant.

TRAINERS:

Bio - Mr. Jeffrey Hardison

Bio - Mr. Valentino Vasquez

Bio - Ms. Jo Linda Powell Greenfield, a native of Southern California and denizen of sundry states in the union of late resides in Colorado. She began her preparative language studies and interpreter training in California. A graduate from the Interpreter Training Program at Ohlone College, she is pursuing graduate level studies for the professional development certificate in the Master Mentoring Program at University of Colorado at Boulder. A charter member of NAOBI, The National Alliance of Black Interpreters Inc. and a certified member of the Registry of Interpreterís for the Deaf and it's Special Interest Group - (ITOC) Interpreters and Transliterators of Color. She is an Interpreter, Interpreter Educator, Mentor and oft times role model for up and coming Interpreters.

Vita - Expertise: ASL to English; Legal Settings; Performing Arts/Theatre; Coordination of Conference Interpretation Services; Mentoring of Interpreters from culturally diverse communities: Introduction to the Field of American Sign Language-English Interpretation. Extensive experience as an Interpreter and maintains a private practice as such. Education: Bachelor of Science: Liberal Arts, Depth - Sign Language Interpreting.
Associate of Arts degrees: Interpreter for the Deaf and Business Administration.
Certificates: RID: Transliteration Certificate, Certificate of Interpretation, Certificate of Transliteration, Specialist Certificate: Legal, National Association of the Deaf -Master's Level V.

PARTICIPANTS:I am in the process of finalizing roster of twelve deaf and hearing, female and male Interpreters from across the country that will participate as well one assistant.

There will be three selected from each of the following communities: African American, American Indian /Alaskan Native, Asian American or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino(a) American. My goal is to select only Interpreters who have ASLTA, NAD or RID certifications or equivalent KSA (knowledge, skills, and abilities) to qualify for the project. These KSAs result from their work as interpreters or mentors as well as experience in working as interpreters, interpreter educators and/or mentors.

LOCATION AND LOGISTICS
All participants will be required to attend the onsite training at Front Range Community Collegeís Lowry campus in the National Distance Learning Center facilities. Participants and trainers will be housed at the National Distance Learning Center facilities.

SURVEYS AND EVALUATIONS
I conducted mini-surveys of interest in and the need for mentorship training for Interpreters who are People of Color. I will compose weekly journal entries and assemble mini-evaluations in the form of tri-weekly performance reports. I will construct a major concluding evaluation drawing on tips gleaned from the ìJournalsÖî article to be comprised of data from final mentor and trainer evaluations as part of a year end capstone report.

CLOSING COMMENTS
During our first semester one of the main topics for discussion was "Mentoring - What, Why, Who?" We commenced this section with an exploration of how to convey the term "mentor"in American Sign Language.

This led to a heightened awareness for me of how various cheremes used to form this sign can be indicative of power mongering, superiority, patronizing, mothering, distrust, parolee mentality, nervousness, anxiety, looking over oneís shoulder, authoritatively perching and so on. These indications when layered upon issues prevalent in a cross-cultural mentoring dyad present seemingly insurmountable barriers to mentors or mentees from non-majority culture communities. I challenged us to address these issues with passion and purpose, for "if you have a purpose in which you can believe, thereís no end to the amount of things you can accomplish"(Marian Anderson). In our second course while revisiting Chapter IV of the RITC Region IX Mentoring materials, I came across the following statement. "We are working to develop, refine and in many instances - introduce a new facet of professional development to the working interpreter"i.e. mentorship. Using the knowledge and skills gained as a student in the Master Mentoring program, I have pulled together various aspects of my final project.

The wealth of practical information upon which I relied included the components of a successful curriculum for mentorship training; a sample grant proposal; tips on seeking monies from national grant holders; the importance of developing "learning relationships" with organizations inside and outside of the field in regard to contributing funds or materials; as well as marketing the benefits of mentorship training to prospective funders, participants and/or trainers. Throughout the course, we used a host of English metaphors to describe what a mentor is, does and causes. What follows is a listing of these along with additional metaphors as I see it.
Gatekeeper - controlled exposure to new challenges; Coach - motivator and source of the rules for playing the game; Security Blanket - groom and affirm as to readiness for the tasks ahead; Sistah Girrrl Role Model - lead the way through uncharted waters; Scout - point out dangers ahead; Mother Hen - offer protection and security; Counselor - listen to their dreams and assuage their fears; Escort - guide through the cultural maze; Broker - invest in the development of the weltanschauung; The Safety or Defensive Tackle - ward off emotionally or psychologically damaging missiles and Gardener - nurture and guide the growth of precious seedlings.

Which of these roles or combination of roles makes for a successful mentorship betwixt People of Color? Does one cloak oneself with one role and then trade it for another at various times during the mentorship? If so, how does one intuitively discern when it is time to swap oneís cloak? These are among the questions to be explored and now is the "time for everyone of us to roll up our sleeves and put ourselves at the top of our commitment list" (Marion Wright Edelman).

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Project Five:

OVERVIEW AND HISTORY:
At the beginning of this semester, I posted my original fieldwork proposal and questions that I had with the feasibility of carrying it out as originally proposed. The fieldwork proposal that I re-submitted on January 16, (msg. #73) as a posting to the Mentorship Project discussion forum and the questions I posed to the class (msg. #80) has even changed a bit due to circumstances beyond my control, mostly with regards to hopeful avenues for funding to cover incidental expenses not ìpanning outî for various reasons - short, limited state grants for mentoring services being discontinued or dropped, two regionally advertised workshops for training for interpreters working with Deafblind individuals being postponed then cancelled due to low registrations (providing a much needed service, but to a low-incidence population), and the RSA Region 7 grant falling under new directorship (my husband) which does not work "in my favor" towards being a possible direct recipient for grant/training funds.

However, since January, after many sleepless nights and unanswered calls and emails, in mid-February a new opportunity presented itself as a possibility for my fieldwork proposal that was still in line with one of the possibilities presented in the original proposal ñ that of training and mentoring educational interpreters already working in the field especially in rural areas or with little or no professional training opportunities or support, and as a result, it is an opportunity that I became passionate about and very excited to start this project. Keeping in line with what we as a class have discussed time and again, I anticipate and eagerly await learning as much (if not more) as the mentees that I will be working with.

Last month (March, 2002), I had the opportunity to discuss ideas and options for my fieldwork with Betsy Winston in person. It was approved that the Fall fieldwork project could actually commence the latter half of July with my contracting with RSA 7 and teaching/presenting in the annual summer "Training of Interpreters in Educational Settings" (T.I.E.S.) that is held at the Kansas School for the Deaf located in Olathe, KS, a suburb about 35 minutes south of Kansas City and centrally located within the four state region. The content and logistical information of the proposed fieldwork is here in the body of this message and a few appendices are also attached including the T.I.E.S. brochure and registration form with general information (although, for some reason, the fonts and text in the Title did not transfer well to the .pdf file. This title should appear as "T.I.E.S. 2002 - Training Interpreters for Educational Settings"). This annual training, which was started in 1991, is for educational interpreters in RSA Region 7 (KS, MO, NE, and IA) who are currently working or hired to begin working in K-12 academic settings the coming school year. This summer, Sign Language Interpretation Consultation and Educational Services (SLICES, LLC) and our very own Patty Gordon (et al) will be coordinating the training activities and leading T.I.E.S 2002. (T.I.E.S. flyer attached as - Form3.pdf and Form6.pdf).

The main rationale for including this weeklong, approximately 37 contact hours summer training in my fieldwork, includes the fact that I am one of the 6 main instructors contracted to teach/train participants for T.I.E.S. this summer. The interpreters/mentees that I select to mentor and track interpreting and language skill development and progress during the Fall will be selected from among interested participants that register, attend and complete the weeklong training, and agree to be mentored by me. The T.I.E.S. training is limited to 30 applicants. Registrations (which are sent to all educational interpreters and school districts via the JCCC RITP grantís mailing list) are again being handled on a first-come, first-serve basis through the RSA 7 Regional Interpreting Training Project grant at Johnson County Community College. Registration requirements include that interested applicants be currently working as interpreters in educational settings or be newly contracted to work within a school district the coming í02-03 school year, completed registration forms (see attached Form6.pdf) be accompanied with a non-refundable $175 registration fee, applications be sent in by the June 3, 2002 deadline to Johnson County Community College, and that applicants commit to attending all 5 days of training. This fee includes dorm lodging and 3 meals/day at the Kansas School for the Deaf as well as the five-day training and optional evening social activities. Another reason for wanting to start the mentorship fieldwork the week of July14 is simply financial. I will be remunerated for teaching during T.I.E.S., which will provide me with ìseed moneyî for the mileage, and possibly lodging expenses incurred during the Fall semester when I travel to the selected menteesí schools to observe them and provide live feedback, and also for cost incurred with the purchase and mailing of tapes that will be used and sent to mentees with feedback. I anticipate that, depending on the number of mentees I accept and also the geographic proximity and distance from my home location in Olathe, KS, by the time the fieldwork project is completed, I will be fortunate if I can break even with regards to costs incurred during the course of the Project.

Regardless of the outcome, I am sure that the experience and learning gained will be worth it.

While the thirty participants will be doing many training and social activities together as a large group during the five days and evenings of training, upon registering for T.I.E.S., each registrant has the choice of choosing whether s/he wishes to focus on and attend either the ASL or the SEE II mini-classes. It is expected there will be approximately 20 ASL/PSE participants and 10 SEE II participants. Kansas KQAS, MO MICS, and RID/ACET CEUís are pending for participants.

Due to my previous training, experience, and knowledge of working within educational settings using SEE lexicon while still incorporating ASL principles and features, I have been assigned to team teach and facilitate the group of participants that are choosing to focus on improving their S.E.E. "interpreting"(transliterating) skills. For the Fall '02 mentoring fieldwork, however, it is my intent (and hope) that I could select a number of participants from BOTH groups (ASL and SEE) to continue to follow and mentor. It would be interesting to somehow compare and measure (however "unscientific" the method may seem), the skill development and outcomes of participants in both the ASL and SEE groups. I hope to get and discuss ideas how to go about doing this from Betsy and other colleagues and facilitators in this program that have more experience in measuring and tracking outcomes and growth, during this summer on-site in Boulder. Currently, one possibility I am considering is that of videotaping the participant at the beginning of T.I.E.S., during the last day of the training, then again in September when they start their contract and one more time during the semester around the beginning of November using the same source text, yet to be chosen after I discuss details with Patty Gordon as to materials she and others from SLICES, LLC plan for the teaching/training teams to share and utilize during the week of training.

It should be noted that returning interpreters that are have worked previously using only SEE or only ASL/contact sign(PSE) in educational settings do not necessarily have to choose to continue to study in the same ìmodalityî during the week of training unless it is ìencouragedî or required by the individualís school district. However, past history has shown that if the participants know the deaf student(s) they are individually assigned to work with, it is likely that they will choose to focus on the modality and skills that need to be developed or enhanced. For example, an interpreter that mainly uses SEE could opt to focus on the ASL track to improve ASL skills and vice versa; however, it is understood that the participant must be open-minded, willing to learn, and have enough knowledge and skill of the signs of the chosen modality (either SEE or ASL/contact signing vernacular) to be able to participate, practice interpreting, and participate in the activities.

With this general overview of the ìinitialî summer training opportunity that will kick off and provide me with choosing my mentoring opportunities from September through December, I will address in more detail the rationale for the project and how I envision the hands-on mentoring fieldwork and actual mentoring activities taking place. While there are still final details and logistics that need to be worked out, things continue to shape up and fall into place daily and ìloose endsî will be tied up by the time of the summer class on-site.

DESCRIPTION OF GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
Goals and objectives of the summer T.I.E.S. institute as outlined in the proposal to the RSA7/RITP director and submitted by SLICES, LLC for consideration. By agreeing to teach in the T.I.E.S. 2002 institute, I also agreed with the following goal and objectives of SLICES, LLC:

"Goal: To provide a high-quality, challenging 4-day educational event for sign language interpreters working in Kansas K-12 school settings.

Objectives:

1) Establish a safe, yet challenging learning environment that encourages networking, skill improvement and professional growth;
2) Provide sessions that include a balance of lecture, large and small group discussions, and hands-on activities;
3) Establish a foundation for the week by teaching peer-feedback and self-assessment techniques to participants which will be used and discussed throughout the week;
4) Offer a simulated classroom experience where participants will practice their interpreting techniques, receiving feedback from an interpreter educator and Deaf ASL Specialist team;
5) Offer participants several 3 or 6 hour mini-class options on a variety of topics, to be determined at a later date; and,
6) Assist participants in the identification of resources and options for continued study and skill enhancement."

The goal for the continuation of the mentorship and training during the Fall semester: To reinforce and apply content and language and interpreting skills and techniques taught and practiced at the T.I.E.S. summer institute to real academic interpreting situations in the participant's/mentee's daily working environment from September through December 2002.

Objectives:

1) Guide and mentor the interpreter/mentee via distance technology and onsite (face-to-face) with regards to signing and/or interpreting skills;
2) Introduce and offer effective techniques to mentees for problem-solving, self-assessment, and monitoring; 3) Assist the mentee in identifying specific patterns observed in areas of strengths and needing improvement;
4) Offer constructive feedback in a non-biased, professional, respectful, and sincere manner;
5) Serve as a support, resource, and guide for the mentee in his/her journey and efforts to effectively interpret for d/hh students in k-12 educational interpreting situations;
6) Fulfill the requirements for the Master Mentor Program by modeling and teaching the Mentee techniques and effective learning strategies that have been taught throughout the Master Mentor program.

RATIONALE FOR YOUR APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHIES:
Many educational interpreters and even those in supervisory roles in the rural areas of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri do not reside or work near a two or four year Interpreter Training Program and do not have or have not had the opportunity to learn and practice effective techniques for self-guided learning, self-assessment and objective evaluation of their own language, communication, and interpreting skills, problem-solving techniques (Demand-Control Theory), or effective and realistic goal setting. Refer to Appendix A for a newspaper article, which was printed in the "Garden City [KS] Telegram"within the last month. These interpreters often lack ways to find resources or to be able to refer someone else (or even themselves) to resources in order to get answers to questions they seek. Even inexperienced or recent graduates of such ITP/IPP programs, who may have been exposed to these topics and theories during 2 (or more) years of formal academic training and coursework, most likely will still be lacking in being able to apply these techniques and theories in an immediately available and effective way to enhance their professional development and confidence, once they leave the comfortable and safe confines of the daily academic classroom and supervision of an instructor that they have had the chance to get to know well.

Working with a professional trained Mentor is a way for these interpreters to "Bridge the Gap" that exists and is apparent when an interpreter plateaus in her/his professional skills, growth, attitudes and/or development or feels that they are stuck in a status quo. By utilizing the Vygotskian method of mentoring, guiding and teaching, a trained Mentor can guide the interpreter/mentee towards developing skills and confidence in their abilities to continue to seek creative ways to challenge themselves and grow professionally for the sake of providing the best possible service and effective interpretation for deaf