Mentoring

The Promoting Achievement for Students with Sensory Loss (PASS) Project, with funding from the Indiana Department of Education, has established the Indiana Educational Interpreter Mentoring Program to increase the number of qualified educational interpreters working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing.   The goal of the program is to guide and assist in the development of educational interpreting skills.  An interpreting mentor will be assigned to each mentee to provide support, encouragement, and direct feedback on their interpreting skills. In addition, a Deaf mentor will be assigned, as needed, to assist with language acquisition and to educate mentees about Deaf culture.  All mentees will have the opportunity to set professional goals and improve their skill level in order to meet the requirements set forth by the state of Indiana.

To be eligible to apply, individuals must be currently working for an Indiana school district or special education cooperative.  Educational interpreters who have already passed the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) tests or who are certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) meet the qualification requirements set by the state of Indiana and are not eligible to participate in the program.

The PASS Project will provide the necessary equipment and resource materials needed to support the individualized course of study for each mentee and provide reimbursement for the Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment (EIPA) tests.

For more information, contact:
Robin Thoma, PASS Project Coordinator
Phone:  (812) 237-8115
Email: Robin.Thoma@indstate.edu