A local school system shall establish an instructional mentoring program as part of its Comprehensive Induction Program. The mentoring program shall provide individualized, instruction-focused, job-embedded support and mentoring that begins when a teacher is hired into the local school system. The mentoring program shall include standards for effective mentoring that are: Focused; Systematic; Ongoing; Of high quality; Geared to the needs of each teacher; and Include observations with feedback. The mentoring program shall include mentoring activities related to the Five Core Propositions of National Board Certification focusing on planning, instructional practices, and analyzing student learning. The mentoring program shall support new teachers in developing culturally relevant teaching practices for all students. To the extent practicable given staffing and fiscal concerns, each new teacher shall receive at least 400 minutes of mentoring per marking period. A local school system and new teacher may mutually agree to a reduction in mentoring minutes per marking period if the new teacher achieves a rating of effective, or comparable, on a year-end evaluation. The reduction of mentoring minutes per marking period shall not be less than: 300 minutes per marking period in year two of induction; and 200 minutes per marking period in year three of induction. Each local school system shall have a rigorous selection process for mentors that includes: Assurance that the mentor holds: A Professional or Advanced Professional License; and At least an effective, or comparable, rating on the most recent local school system evaluation; A recommendation from a school or district leader who previously or currently supervises the individual and can attest to their readiness for the mentor role; and Once the Career Ladder is well established, prioritization of those teachers with a designation of Lead, Distinguished, or Professor Distinguished Teacher. Each local school system shall establish a process for matching mentors and mentees that: Correlates licensure areas or grade bands, with the prioritization of the licensure area when possible; and Considers diversity markers to the extent practicable. Local school systems shall provide initial and ongoing training for mentors that may include: Mentoring language and stances; Key practices of a mentor, including differentiation of support; Adult learning practices; Elements of instructional mentoring, such as observations, planning, and analyzing student work; Reflection on mentoring practice and communities of practice; Anti-bias pedagogy aligned with the Social Justice Standards incorporated by reference in Regulation .02 of this chapter; and Identification and coordination of appropriate resources to address the performance needs of mentees. A mentor in the comprehensive induction program may not participate in the formal evaluation of a mentee.