Topeka ? It’s been nearly two decades, but Mark Desetti of Lawrence still remembers his first day as a kindergarten teacher.

Though he felt prepared by his education, he was unsure at first how to put that to use in classroom instruction.

Luckily, a co-worker offered help in the form of suggestions and support throughout his first year. Now Desetti wants to make sure that extra help is available to all first-year teachers.

On Monday, Desetti, who represents the Kansas National Education Assn., asked the 2010 Commission to support teacher mentoring, like the program already in place in the Lawrence school district. The 2010 Commission, a product of this year’s school finance legislation, is charged with making recommendations to the Legislature on ways to improve public schools.

Teacher mentoring has long been advocated but the state has fallen short of fully funding the programs for several years.

Now Desetti is working with Sandra Crowther, a Lawrence school district administrator, to persuade the Legislature of the importance of this program and to expand it to a teacher’s first three years on the job.

Their goal is to get the Legislature to approve $3 million for the program during the 2006-2007 school year.

State education officials say within the first five years on the job, 33 percent of new teachers will leave the profession. For teachers who receive peer mentoring, the rate drops to 22 percent.

Crowther said the state needs to beef up mentoring in order to ensure first-year teachers return for a second year. This is especially important to districts such as Lawrence, where 35 new teachers were hired this year.

“Right now the state need is to hold onto first-year teachers,” Crowther said.

Commission Chairwoman Rochelle Chronister was receptive to the presentation.

“Mentoring and professional development are two of the most important things we can do to retain our teachers, especially our first-year teachers, and to improve the level of instruction in our schools,” Chronister said.

– Staff writer Gina Terlizzi can be reached at (785) 354-4222.