Mentoring teachers who are new to the profession is frequently mentioned as an effective strategy for improving both new teachers' skills and the likelihood that they will stay in the profession. A lot has been written about the merits of creating a community of support for new teachers. Here are some quick links to that information.
Retaining and supporting first-year teachers—Have you considered the elements of successful induction and mentoring programs?
http://www.coe.ufl.edu/copsse/docs/PB-11/1/PB-11.pdf
The impact of mentoring on teacher retention: What the research says.
This 2004 report’s primary objective is to provide policymakers, educators, and researchers with a reliable assessment of what is known, and not known, about the effectiveness of teacher induction programs, especially its impact on teacher retention.
http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/50/36/5036.htm
Mentor professional development.
The New Teacher Center offers a menu of trainings from which educational organizations can choose to support the growth of mentors, coaches, supervisors, master teachers, consultant teachers, principals, and coordinators of induction programs. The trainings are offered regionally on selected dates throughout the year on a per participant enrollment basis. NTC trainings are also available to school districts, universities, and other educational entities on a contractual basis. You’ll also find many research-based briefs on mentoring, including:
Best practice resources on mentoring.
This site concentrates almost exclusively on teacher mentoring. There are toolkits and lots of "how-to's" about setting up programs---most of the info is for sale but not too expensive.
http://teachermentors.com/index.html
Mentoring and induction principles.
CEC offers "Mentoring Induction Principles and Guidelines," which is designed primarily for local school districts interested in establishing or strengthening their mentoring program for special education teachers.
http://www.cec.sped.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ProfessionalDevelopment
/ProfessionalStandards/mip_g_manual_11pt.pdf
Mentoring and supporting new teachers.
http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/010902NEWTEACH.pdf
Edutopia on mentoring.
http://www.edutopia.org/mentor-teachers-resources
And while we're talking mentoring...
http://www.nwrel.org/mentoring/index.php
The National Mentoring Center (NMC) actually focuses upon the mentoring of youth, but you may find NMC's 10-module training curriculum offers useful and generic guidance on how to create a mentoring system that works.
A Better Beginning: Supporting and Mentoring New Teachers.
$25.95, ASCD, by the same author as Keeping Good Teachers
http://shop.ascd.org/ProductDisplay.cfm?ProductID=199236