Mentoring and Coaching Rural School Leaders: What Do They Need?

This study explores the types of principal mentoring/ coaching programs delivered in Wyoming school districts, USA, and the areas of need perceived by principals at different levels of experience. Some formalized district principal mentorship programs existed in larger school districts but these mainly targeted beginning principals. Most of the mentorship that occurred was informal. Priority topics for mentoring and coaching beginning and experienced principals identified were, in the area of professional socialization, data driven decision-making and instructional leadership, and in the area of organizational socialization, working with difficult faculty members and working with difficult parents.