Exploring Co-mentoring Circle Practices: Insights for Leadership Development

This article describes a graduate mentoring program included in a course that is part of the required coursework for the PK-12 Principal and Program Administrator Certification Program, and findings related to the program’s effectiveness. The mentoring program is called a “Co-mentoring Circle,” which is held as a part of the required Principal and Program Administrator Internship Seminar once a month during the academic year. The co-mentoring circle process has been refined over the past 10 academic years with over 100 participants. The co-mentoring circles process was designed to fill a need for PK-12 Principal and Program Administrator Interns to have a supportive and confidential space in which to process their internship experiences and learn from the wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise among all the Interns in the Seminar. Co-mentoring circles draw upon foundational and current mentoring scholarship and integrate effective mentoring and co-mentoring practices with leadership preparation scholarship and best practices for PK-12 Principal and Program Administrators for service as future building-based school or school district level leaders.