Colorado Department of Early Childhood
Do you think you could be an excellent peer mentor to other ECE professionals? Are you a coach, trainer, director, or teacher interested in being trained to effectively peer mentor a colleague? We have an opportunity for you!
What
In February of 2026, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood will launch the fifth cohort of the Peer Mentor Program. We are seeking: mentors and mentees who are interested in participating. The training will support mentors in developing the skills necessary to be effective mentors.
When
Peer mentors will attend one 3-hour training session per month and a one-hour community practice session monthly. All training sessions will be held via Zoom on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and all community practice sessions will be held via Zoom on Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Mentees will have to commit to attending one kickoff meeting and two module meetings. Additionally, mentees will be required to complete one PDIS eLearning course per month that aligns with their goals.
To view the full schedule, please refer to the Peer Mentor Program course on the PDIS.
Who
Thirty mentor spots are available, 15 for English speakers and 15 for Spanish speakers.
Upon completion, mentors will receive 18 hours of ongoing professional development on their PDIS transcript, and mentees will receive six clock hours for attending the two modules.
Possible mentor-mentee pairings:
- Experienced coach or trainer to a new coach or trainer
- Director to Assistant Director or new Director
- Family Child Care Provider to a New Teacher or Family Child Care Provider
- Experienced Teacher to New Teacher
If you are interested in joining the program, please search for Peer Mentor (18 hours) on the Colorado Shines PDIS Learning Search to fill out an application. If you are a teacher, director, assistant director, coach, or trainer, please ensure you have identified a mentee before submitting your application; only mentors are required to complete the application. For family child care providers, we will do our best to match you with a mentee in your local community.
If you have any questions about the fifth cohort, please contact Connie Zabalaga at connie.zabalaga@state.co.us.
To learn more about this opportunity please visit docs.google.com.