Full-release mentoring programs draw successful mid-career teachers away from classrooms, with the inherent risk that they will decide not to return to classroom teaching, thus eliminating the opportunity for future students to benefit directly from their expertise. This might be enough for some districts, particularly those struggling to retain staff members, to decide that an investment in full-release mentoring programs would be too risky. The Santa Cruz New Teacher Project (SCNTP), begun in 1988 as the pilot program of what is now known as the New Teacher Center Induction Model, releases classroom teachers to be full-time mentors to novice teachers for three years. The authors were eager to learn what proportion of full-release mentors from SCNTP returned to classroom teaching after their stint as mentors in support of novice teachers. In their research, the authors have identified four broad areas in which mentoring can make a significant contribution to the ongoing professional practice of experienced teachers and the school districts in which they work. In this article, the authors describe these areas along with some of their survey results and selected comments from the veteran mentors. (Contains 10 notes.)