WP Credits MentorEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. huddles will take place on SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. in the private mentor channel, with the following sessions:
– last Wednesday of each month at 9am UTC, starting on January 28
– last Thursday of each month at 5pm UTC, starting on January 29

This week we hosted the first two WordPress Credits mentor huddles, and it was great to see mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. joining from different regions to share experiences, challenges, and ideas. Thank you to everyone who made time to participate and help shape the program together!

Attendees: @celigaroe, @lasacco, @lumiblog, @webtechpooja, @peiraisotta, @organvlasti, @alexcu21, @evarlese, @francescodicandia, @nilovelez, @sirlouen, @arburola , @josvelasco, @nazmul111, @fahimmurshed, @shivashankerbhatta, @subrataemfluence, @sion99, @devmuhib, and @lidarroy

Table of Content

Mentorship and student onboarding

We discussed the onboarding phase as one of the most critical moments for students to build confidence and start forming connections within the WordPress community. Many students feel overwhelmed by early setup tasks, such as creating accounts and configuring tools, which can slow engagement. This is why is fundamental that mentors have a clear understanding of the full student platform and the entire student journey, in addition to regularly review student reports to stay informed on progress, spot blockers early, and provide timely support.

Communication and engagement

Communication seems to be a recurring challenge, with students often hesitant to ask questions and share progress in an async environment. As a concrete improvement, we agreed to add mandatory steps that prompt students to introduce themselves and regularly post updates in Slack, including in their contribution team channels. Hopefully, this will help normalize communication, increase visibility, and strengthen students’ sense of belonging.

Language and learning resources

We acknowledged language as a significant barrier, particularly for Spanish speaking students navigating primarily English WordPress resources. To reduce friction, mentors agreed to expand multilingual support where possible and to enhance the mentor guide with resources that help assess students’ knowledge levels and tailor guidance across contribution teams.

Mentorship structure

While we explored the idea of assigning an additional technical or specialized mentor after students choose a contribution team, we confirmed that each student will continue to have one primary mentor assigned before the program starts, supporting them throughout the entire experience. When students choose a contribution area outside their mentor’s direct expertise, mentors will introduce them in the relevant team channels and help connect them with experienced contributors, while remaining responsible for weekly syncs and ongoing check-ins.

Improvements to the mentor course

On the training side, @lidarroy and @evarlese are expanding the mentor course to better support teachers and professionals who may not yet have contribution experience. Our goal is to help them confidently navigate WordPress community spaces and grow into well-prepared mentors.

Retention and community integration

We agreed that retaining graduates in the WordPress community beyond the program is a coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. goal. We began exploring strategies such as inviting program graduates to mentor new students and creating “day in the life” videos that showcase different contribution roles. Tailored actions aimed at retaining graduates will be defined in January and implemented into the program.

Upcoming cohorts

We will move from rolling start dates to fixed monthly onboarding periods during the first two weeks of each month starting in 2026. The January cohort will start on January 5, followed by February 2–13 and March 2–13. From January onward, we will also deliver a shared program presentation before onboarding begins, covering program structure, expectations, tools, and community spaces.

In Q1 2026, we will onboard students from Nordic Riga University, Universidad Fidélitas, Krakow University of Economics, and Central New Mexico Community College, among others, applying these improvements as the program continues to grow.

Mentor huddles

Mentors will start meeting regularly, with monthly huddles becoming a recurring space to share feedback, surface challenges, and continue improving the program together. These sessions are open to all mentors and will take place on Slack in the private mentor channel, with a session on the last Wednesday of each month at 9am UTC, starting on January 28, and a session on the last Thursday of each month at 5pm UTC, starting on January 29.

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Want to learn more about WordPress Credits? Visit the program page, join the #wpcredits Slack channel, and take a look at the handbook.

If you wish to apply as a mentor, please carefully read the mentor guide and apply using the form at the bottom of the guide.

#wpcredits