The IMV Mentorship

Framing matters. "Modules" signal passive learning: content to absorb. "Plays" signal something you practice, rehearse, and deploy in real situations. The sports metaphor is intentional: like an athlete, a mentor needs a repertoire of practiced moves they can execute under pressure, not just knowledge they can recite. Each Play is a competency that mentors learn, practice in mock scenarios, and then apply in real mentoring relationships.

Most retention programs target the teachers at risk of leaving. I flipped the focus: invest in the experienced teachers who stay, give them a structured way to support their colleagues, and you build the relational infrastructure that makes teaching sustainable for everyone. The mentors grow into leaders. The mentees feel supported. The school culture shifts. Retention becomes an outcome of the system, not a program bolted onto it.

The live Zoom sessions (the "101 Kickoffs") are peer-presented, not delivered by IMV staff. This is a deliberate design choice: it builds leadership capacity from the very first session. Mentors don't just receive training: they lead it. By the time they're working with mentees, they've already practiced the posture of being the expert in the room.

Built on Articulate Rise and Mighty Networks, each asynchronous module uses interactive scenarios, sorting exercises, matching puzzles, hotspot interactions, video vignettes, and scenario-based branching. These aren't slide decks: they're immersive digital learning experiences. Bilingual content is woven in natively in English and Spanish, not translated. Graded assessments, downloadable implementation guides, and reflective artifacts round out each module.

Mentees are matched to mentors using the Together platform's algorithm, which factors in compatibility across style, experience level, and school context. Each mentee selects a cycle focus area to personalize their growth. Mentors then conduct weekly observations, feedback conversations, and debriefs: a minimum of five interactions per two-month round. The structure ensures consistency without rigidity.

The Plays build on each other in a deliberate arc: Trust (Play 1) creates safety → Instructional Practices (Play 2) builds shared language → Evoking Awareness (Play 3) develops the mentee's inner lens → Problem-Solving (Play 4) converts awareness to action → Science of Change (Play 5) gives mentors the neuroscience to understand why growth is hard and how to sustain it. Each Play is valuable independently, but the sequence creates compound impact.

Scaling across schools with very different cultures while maintaining program integrity. Each partner school has its own context, norms, and power dynamics. The program needed to be structured enough to be replicable but flexible enough to fit each environment. I solved this by making the Five Plays framework non-negotiable (the "what") while letting administrators tailor the implementation cadence and mentee focus areas (the "how"). School administrators commit to supporting mentor-mentee connections and responding to issues beyond IMV's control, but the curriculum and training remain consistent.

I led program vision, curriculum architecture (the Five Plays framework), and learning experience design. Worked closely with coaches and evaluators (Jay Michney, Sandra Gutiérrez) on rubric calibration and mentor training. Jennifer Kouakeu managed partner school relationships and dual-language program integration. Laura Rainey built the digital learning modules and LMS infrastructure. Meilin Chong coordinated logistics, registration, and Together platform operations. Strategic oversight from Kristin Scotchmer (founding ED).

Cohort 5 ran across three DC partner schools with OSSE funding support: Bridges PCS (45 survey responses), Mundo Verde PCS (37 responses), and Briya Public Charter School (31 responses). Each school's participation was tailored to its unique context while rooted in the same Five Plays framework: validating that the program scales without losing fidelity.