Mandated mentoring is a concept associated with both possibilities and pitfalls, because it requires staff development for and by public school teachers. While such mentoring seemingly reflects a higher commitment to new teachers, it also introduces restrictive elements and oppressive expectations for assigned mentors and mentees. Importantly, mandated mentoring can complement voluntary mentoring within learning organizations, but it should not be confused with it. In this article, the author proposes that both mandated mentoring and voluntary mentoring have merits and valuable goals and, where thoughtfully facilitated, can even be implemented simultaneously. Mandated mentoring is hardly effective without an authentic, grassroots approach. Toward developing an induction model that satisfies this aim, as well as meets the state requirements, the author offers a scenario that demonstrates mentoring as a practical change strategy and possible solution to the question of how best to mentor in a public school setting.