Hilliard, Stevenson, and Stevenson’s administrative assistant, Carly Giggi, have dedicated much of their summer to designing and launching the new mentorship program for the ConVal district. Shawne Hilliard, former principal of GES, is consulting for the new ConVal mentorship program. According to an NEA policy brief, district mentorship programs can cut teacher turnover by 50%. “The data indicates that having an effective mentor can make a first-year teacher (perform) like a third-year teacher,” Stevenson said. Hilliard and Giggi created the mentorship program handbook, and the program held its first training on July 21.