Aviation Educator Mentoring Program

Mentors Are Essential to Safety!
About the ProgramSAFEmentorAdvice
Minimum Requirements to Participate
How to Participate
Contact Us for More Information

[Mentee Application]     [Mentor Application]

 FAAmentorBestPracticesAbout the Program

SAFE’s Aviation Educator Mentoring Program (the Program) enhances the professional development of aviation educators of all types. Through mentoring and support, participants grow stronger and smarter in promoting a safe aviation environment. You too can become part of this unique Program.

The Program matches expert aviation educators with those seeking assistance or improvement to become world class educators themselves by providing an effective framework for the mentoring process. The Program is available to current educators or educators-in-training who are members of SAFE, whether in flight, ground, youth, college, maintenance, or other aviation areas.  Even experienced educators may occasionally want or need insights when teaching in new aircraft, or with new technologies and techniques.


 

Minimum Requirements to Participate

Mentees (those seeking mentoring).

  1. Mentees must be SAFE members in good standing.
  2. Mentees must be aviation educators or in training programs to become aviation educators.

Mentors (those providing mentoring).

  1. Mentors must be SAFE members in good standing.
  2. Mentors must provide two references who can verify that mentors possess sufficient expertise in aviation or aviation education to warrant the respect of their aviation peers.
  3. At least one reference should hold a position of authority in the aviation community such as a Designated Pilot Examiner, FAA representative in a relevant position, Chief Pilot, Director of Education Program, FAASTeam Representative, or any other person in a position  acceptable to the Mentoring Program Committee chair. This requirement helps to assure the quality of approved Program Mentors.

Meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance as a mentor. Approval as a Program mentor is the decision of the Mentoring Program Committee and is based on a review of the application, recommendations, and references.

How to Participate

SAFE members interested in becoming either mentors or mentees are invited to complete a simple online application (see Application Process below).

Information gathered from Program applicants is used to match those who are seeking mentoring with potential mentors. Information is otherwise kept confidential and stored in a secure database. The Mentoring Program Committee reviews applications for acceptance into the Program, selecting (when possible) several potential mentors for each mentee based on mutual areas of interest, expertise, and geographic location when possible. The Mentoring Program Committee will provide a list of potential mentors to mentees for review. It is then up to mentees to contact a mentor of choice from the list.

The mentoring process officially begins once mentors and mentees agree on the objectives. In some cases, mentoring may be a short-term relationship with questions and answers handled via phone or email, while other cases may dictate a longer term relationship to develop specific skills. Mentors and mentees are expected to communicate regularly with each other, and should submit periodic updates/follow-ups to the Mentoring Program Committee to ensure the effectiveness and overall quality of the program.

Application Process

Complete and submit the appropriate application using one of the links provided below. Once an application is submitted, Ken Wittekiend will contact applicants via email to complete the process. 

Contact Us for More Information

Newlan Parker
Email: newlanparker@yahoo.com