Discover how mentorship in schools in turn shape teacher leadership in Indian schools. Explore proven models, real school examples, and how your school can build a mentorship-driven culture with Ekya PDI.
How Mentorship Builds Better Teachers and Leaders in Indian Schools
Every great teacher has a mentor they secretly thank in their hearts but what does real mentorship in schools look like? And how do we scale it to create school-wide leadership?
From Solo Work to Learning Communities
Walk into any vibrant school, and you’ll find a quiet ecosystem of peer support humming behind the scenes. Teachers huddle after class to problem-solve. Coordinators guide new hires. Counsellors check in on classroom dynamics. These are the roots of mentorship in schools and the future of leadership in schools.
Across India, there’s a growing movement towards Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), peer coaching models, and structured mentoring programs. But here’s the problem: most schools still treat mentorship like a luxury or a one-time PD topic. What we need is a mindset shift mentorship isn’t just nice to have. It’s mission-critical.
The Past: When Teachers Had to 'Figure It Out'
The old system of “sink or swim” teaching has left a trail of teacher burnout, stagnation, and exit. India has one of the highest teacher attrition rates globally, with 1 in 4 educators reporting they considered quitting due to lack of support and growth opportunities (source: NUEPA, 2023).
- Without mentoring, teachers plateau early.
- Without mentoring, curriculum stays stagnant.
- Without mentoring, leaders burn out before they bloom.
For schools trying to build strong academic and emotional cultures, this lack of support isn’t just a gap…it’s a leadership bottleneck.
The Present & Future: Mentorship In Schools - Models That Work
Schools across the country are beginning to reimagine teacher leadership by embedding intentional mentorship models into their structures. Here are four that actually work:
- Peer Coaching
Structured partnerships that foster reflection, lesson planning, and mutual feedback. - Instructional Leadership
Teachers take ownership of academic outcomes by mentoring others in pedagogy and assessment. - Shadowing & Co-Planning
New or transitioning teachers observe, plan, and teach with experienced staff to bridge theory with classroom reality. - Ongoing Feedback Loops
Mentorship in schools isn’t a one-off—it’s embedded through weekly check-ins, culture-building activities, and cross-grade collaborations.
What Schools Need to Enable Mentorship Culture
If we want mentorship in schools to stick, we have to stop treating it like a one-day workshop.
What’s needed is school-level investment in – culture, systems, and leadership pathways.
Leadership development programs
Mentor training and certification
Protected time for co-planning
Long-term PD partnerships
At Ekya PDI, we’ve seen this first hand in our first ever online series. Many K12 professionals from across the country, including teachers, curriculum leads, and counsellors, attended our Culture Series workshops. The outcome? A deeper understanding that mentorship isn’t a fix; it’s a framework. A way to embed values, build trust, and sustain school growth.
Direct testimonials from participants who attended this series:
- “I had the privilege of attending a highly insightful professional development workshop designed for educators. This experience has enriched my pedagogical strategies, empowering me to foster a more inclusive, respectful, and engaging atmosphere for my students.”
- “The professional development workshops and courses offered have been invaluable in enhancing teaching methodologies and fostering meaningful collaboration. The insightful sessions equip educators with innovative strategies, ensuring impactful learning experiences. I highly recommend these initiatives for their commitment to excellence and continuous growth in the teaching community”
- “Counsellors and teachers need to work in collaboration on an ongoing basis than just need based.”
How School Leaders Can Build a Mentorship Culture
Start with mindset. Then move to models.
At Ekya, mentorship in school is embedded in our DNA. We uphold six core pillars of teaching and learning from culture and collaboration to innovation and intentionality. These aren’t just ideals. They’re operational practices seen in how our new teachers are onboarded, how we conduct coaching cycles, and how our leadership pipeline is built.
Our Impact So Far!
- 60%+ of educators rate our programs 5/5
- Average feedback: 4.5/5 across training series
400+ teachers & 50+ leaders trained in 2024–25
- 10,000+ hours of Professional Development delivered
Ready to Build a Mentorship Culture in Your School?
At Ekya Professional Development Institute, we collaborate with schools to co-design custom capacity-building programs. Whether you want to launch a teacher leadership track or embed mentoring into your existing PD calendar, we’re here to help.
From mentorship tracks to culture-building workshops, we build systems!
Final Thought: Who Mentored You and Who Are You Mentoring Today?
Let’s stop waiting for leadership to be handed down from the top. It starts in the staffroom. It grows in the feedback conversation after a class. It thrives when teachers uplift each other.