This guide explains how differentiated support areas work in Coaching and Mentoring, what changed, and how administrators and program managers use the feature across setup, mentorship assignment, check-ins, and reporting.
Differentiated support areas let districts manage different sets of support areas by program, such as Mentoring, Instructional Coaching, or Leadership. Programs can share support areas where needed, but each program can also have its own tailored set.
This feature was introduced to support districts that run multiple educator-support programs in one system and need more relevant check-ins, cleaner reporting, and better alignment to real district structures.
What this feature does
Previously, the platform supported a single global set of support areas. With differentiated support areas, the system introduces programs as a new configuration layer.
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Admins can create multiple programs.
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Each program can be associated with one or more support areas.
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Support areas may overlap across programs.
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Mentorships can be associated with a specific program.
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AI check-ins and manual time logging use the support areas that apply to that mentorship’s program.
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Dashboards and detail pages can report by program as well as support area.
The result is more accurate analysis, clearer data segmentation, and better support for districts running multiple coaching, mentoring, or leadership programs in a single instance.
Key concepts
|
Concept |
What it means |
Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
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Program |
A defined district program such as Mentoring, Coaching, or Leadership. |
Programs organize mentorships and determine which support areas apply. |
|
Support area |
A focus area used for check-ins, time logging, and reporting. |
Support areas become more relevant when tied to the right program. |
|
Program association |
The link between a mentorship and a specific program. |
This drives what users see in check-ins, lists, and reports. |
|
Default program |
A system-created Mentoring program used to migrate legacy data. |
Preserves historical data and gives existing districts a safe starting point. |
How programs and support areas are configured
Configuration happens in Admin Config, where the existing support area setup expands into a program-aware model.
Programs and Support Area table
In Admin Config, admins will see a table for Programs and support area. The page supports two views:
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Group by program: shows each program and its associated support areas.
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Group by support area: shows each support area and the programs it belongs to.
The table also supports:
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Search across the table
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Filtering by program and status
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Status management for programs
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Edit and delete actions where allowed
Adding a program
When an admin selects Add program, a side panel opens. From there, the admin can:
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Enter a unique program name.
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Review the list of active support areas.
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Select one or more support areas for that program.
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Save the program and its support area associations.
Program names must be unique. If a duplicate name is entered, the system blocks saving until the name is changed.
Editing a program
Admins can edit a program to update:
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The program name
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The support areas associated with that program
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The active or inactive status
Changes made in configuration are reflected in the Programs and support area table and affect available selections elsewhere in the product.
Deleting or deactivating a program
Program deletion is restricted when data is already associated with the program.
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If a program has no associated generated data, it may be deleted after confirmation.
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If a program has associated data, deletion is disabled.
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In those cases, admins should deactivate the program to prevent future use.
Deletion protection exists to preserve historical integrity. If a program has already been used in mentorships, check-ins, or related records, the safer path is deactivation rather than deletion.
Default program behavior
When the feature is introduced into an existing district, the system automatically creates a default program called Mentoring.
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Existing support areas are assigned to this default program.
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Existing mentorship records are assigned to this default program.
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This provides backward compatibility for legacy data.
The default program can be renamed, but it remains the anchor for migrated historical data. Its support area association, deactivation, and deletion are restricted.
How program association works in mentorship management
Differentiated support areas only work correctly when mentorships are associated with the right program.
Participant List updates
The Participant List adds a Program column for mentors and mentees.
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Program information can be searched.
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Program information can be sorted like other columns.
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If a person is associated with multiple programs, they may appear in separate rows so each mentorship context is clear.
Manual mentorship assignment
When assigning mentors and mentees manually, the system now supports selecting a program for that mentorship.
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If only one default program exists, it is assigned automatically.
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If multiple programs exist, the user selects the program during assignment.
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Program information is then reflected in the Participant List for both mentor and mentee.
Editing a mentorship’s program
Authorized users can edit program association for mentorships through mentor management flows.
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The current program association is shown in the edit flow.
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Users can select a different available program.
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Changing one mentorship’s program does not automatically change other mentorships for that mentor.
This is important in districts where one mentor may work across multiple programs.
Bulk upload support
Bulk upload templates include a Program column for mentorship-related records.
Important rules:
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Program values are saved only when they match configured programs.
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Program values are saved only when associated with mentorship uploads.
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If no active programs are configured, uploaded program values are ignored after user confirmation.
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If some programs are unrecognized, the user can choose whether to continue and ignore those values.
Bulk upload is validation-aware. It helps prevent invalid program data from entering the system while still allowing admins to continue the import when appropriate.
How differentiated support areas affect check-ins and time logging
AI-powered check-ins
When a check-in transcript is analyzed, the system uses the mentorship’s program association to determine which support areas apply.
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The AI analysis references only the support areas relevant to that program.
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The resulting check-in record reflects the applicable support areas.
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The check-in log also reflects the applicable program.
This improves the relevance of analysis and reduces noise from unrelated support areas.
Manual time logging
Manual logging flows are also program-aware.
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When a user records time manually, the support area dropdown is filtered to the support areas that belong to the mentorship’s program.
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The resulting entry aligns to the correct support areas and program context.
Mentee and profile views
Program information is surfaced in several places to keep context visible:
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Check-in logs include a Program column.
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Support Areas tabs include a Program column.
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Mentee pages and profile-related views reflect the program-aware structure.
How reporting changes
Differentiated support areas also expand reporting and dashboard analysis.
Dashboard updates
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Time entries are aggregated by program.
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A Program category is available in dashboard metrics.
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Users can analyze coaching hours by program.
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Support area slicing respects the selected program context.
Program detail reporting
Detailed program reporting includes measures such as:
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Program name
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Mentor count
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Mentee count
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Hours coached
If a mentor or mentee participates in multiple programs, they are counted within each relevant program view.
Best practices for administrators
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Set up programs before bulk upload or large-scale mentorship assignment.
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Use clear, district-recognizable program names.
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Reuse support areas across programs only when the meaning is truly shared.
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Deactivate old programs instead of deleting them when historical data exists.
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Update mentorship program associations at the start of a school year rather than mid-year when possible.
A clean program structure upfront makes check-ins more accurate, reporting easier to trust, and long-term administration much simpler.