The goals of most secondary school mentoring programs are to advance the skills and competencies of beginning teachers while simultaneously reducing attrition and improving student learning. In Massachusetts, there is a lack of widespread efficacy in existing public high school mentoring programs. The purpose of this study was to examine how to reconceptualize such programs to increase efficacy. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design. An online survey compiled quantitative and qualitative data from 38 mentor teachers across Massachusetts. Six of the 38 online survey respondents were interviewed to garner additional, in-depth, qualitative data. Both the quantitative and qualitative instruments addressed three guiding research questions: (1) What do experienced public high school mentor teachers understand about the practice of mentoring?, (2) What do experienced public high school mentor teachers report are effective educational mentoring practices?, and (3) What do experienced public high school mentor teachers identify as factors and conditions that contribute to and inhibit educational mentoring? Adhering to phenomenological research, significant statements were disaggregated from the online survey and interview transcripts and coded for meaning. Codes were categorized and analyzed for themes which resulted in five findings. The findings revealed that, according to mentor teacher perceptions, current mentoring programs need significant revision and augmentation. Recommendations include mentoring programs based on explicitly stated goals, a focus on beginning teacher self-care, increased time for mentors and mentees to collaborate, and the formation of a mentoring program committee to oversee the complete cycle of school mentoring programs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]