A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting a School-Based Mentoring Program

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting a
School-BasedMentoring Program

• Maria Pinkston
• High School Graduation Coach
• Creekside High School, Fairburn
• 770-306-4300 ext 148
• pinkstonm_at_fultonschools.org

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting a
School-Based Mentoring Program
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School-based Mentoring
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Goal

• Teach participants how to design, implement,
  maintain, and evaluate a school-based mentoring
  program

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Who is a mentor?

• Most adults have had at least one person in their
  lives who made a difference.
• Someone might have taken a special interest in
  you with a constructive positive outcome.
• How did that person make a difference in your
  life?

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Famous Mentor-Mentee Pairs
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Benefits of Mentoring

• Students who meet regularly with mentors are
• 52 less likely to skip school.
• 46 less likely than their peers to start using
  illegal drugs.
• 27 less likely to start drinking.
• Source http//www.mentoring.org/mentors/about_men
  toring/how_mentoring_helps/

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Mentoring

• 2.5 million are in formal, high quality mentoring
  relationships.
• Approximately 30 percent of mentoring programs
  are in schools.
• School-based mentoring programs tend to attract
  more volunteers from colleges and universities.
• School-based mentoring programs tend to attract
  more volunteers from the workplace.
• Source http//www.mentormap.org/sbmconference/ab
  outsbm.html

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The School Environment

• Questions to research before getting started
• Is your school environment conducive for a
  mentoring program?
• Does your principal, office staff, and faculty
  support mentoring?
• Will you need to host meetings and trainings to
  familiarize key school officials on mentoring?
• Is there space for mentoring sessions?
• How will a mentor be identified while on campus?
• What policies will need to be implemented?
• For more info http//www.mentormap.org/Tools/Tool
  spg2.html
• http//mentoring.org/find_resources/elements_of_ef
  fective_practice/design

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Designing the Program

• What type of mentoring program?
• Which program guidelines?
• What type of commitment?
• What level of security checks will be used?
• Who will be recruited?
• Which students will be selected?
• For more details go to
• http//mentoring.org/find_resources/elements_of_ef
  fective_practice/design

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Type of Mentoring Programs

• School-based
• Community-based
• Faith-based
• Agency-based

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Types of Mentoring

• E-mentoring or online
• One-on-One
• Group
• Team
• Teacher to Student
• Peer Mentoring

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Program Policies

• Should address
• Who
• What
• Where
• When
• How
• Why
• (See handout Summary of Policies )

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Commitment

• One School Year
• One Full Year
• Length of Time in School
• One hour a week
• One hour a month

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Security Check

• What security and background check programs are
  already existing in your school/district?
• Are your school volunteers screened?
• or
• Will you have to outsource?
• Will you conduct interviews?
• Will you require reference checks?

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Recruitment Process

• Mentor Prospects
• List at least five people, businesses, or
  organizations in each category from which to
  recruit prospective mentors
• Hot List
• (People you know very well, such as family,
  friends, retired teachers, neighbors)
• Contact Name Relationship/Telephone
  Response
• 1. Fred and Freda Pinkston Parents Yes
• Warm List
• (People or businesses you are familiar with but
  do not have an established relationship with,
  PTA, local community agencies which are partnered
  with the school, etc.)
• Contact Name Relationship/Telephone
  Response
• Betty Jones Friend of
  Parents Yes
• Cold List
• (Persons or businesses you would like to target
  and have had no formal contact with, Chamber of
  Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, Sorority, Fraternity,
  etc.)
• Contact Name Relationship/Telephone
  Response
• 1. Cindi Blount - V103 met at South Fulton
  Business Expo Yes
• Other leads may come from mentor referrals, ads
  in local paper, or flyers/brochures around school

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Mentor Training

• On-site or at school
• 1-2 hours
• Concise presentation
• Dos and donts
• Problem indicators
• Whos who at school
• Sign in process
• Familiarize with policies
• Sign commitment

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Mentor Training

• Confidentiality
• Expectations
• Ice-breakers
• Relationship Development
• Activity Calendar/Timeline
• First mentoring session
• Monitoring
• Special Events

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Student Selection

• Establish need what students will be served
• Student interviews
• Priority list
• Parental consent form
• Teacher or counselor recommendation
• Host a training workshop for new mentees

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Implementing the program

• Security Background Checks
• Mentor/Mentee Training
• Special Events
• Program Evaluation
• Privacy Issues
• Monitoring, Retention Recognition
• Please refer to the Elements of Effective
  Practice Handbook

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Mentor/Mentee Relationship Monitoring
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Possible Problems

• Mentor cannot keep weekly commitment
• Student moves
• Student does not like mentor or vice versa
• Mentor moves or passes away
• Parents get overly involved
• Mentor does not feel like theyre helping
• Mentee may attempt to take advantage

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Mentor Retention Recognition
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Links

• http//mentoring.org/find_resources/elements_of_ef
  fective_practice/tool_kit/
• http//www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/wmy2008/index.html
  
• http//www.mentormap.org/index.html
• http//www.edmentoring.org/toolkit/

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Resources

• Elements of Effective Practice
• Handbook of Youth Mentoring (The SAGE Program on
  Applied Developmental Science)
• Mentoring for Meaningful Results Asset-Building
  Tips, Tools, and Activities for Youth and
  AdultsBy Kristie Probst
• Mentoring Teens A Resource GuideBy Carol Miller
  
• Mentor The Kid The CEO by Tom Pace with Walter
  Jenkins

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Events/Trainings

• Sep 18, 2008 -Sep 19, 2008 National Mentoring
  Summit, Anaheim, CA - MENTOR, the California
  Mentor Foundation and the Evelyn Freed Mentor
  Center are pleased to announce "Mentoring - The
  Magic of Connections!" National Mentoring Summit.
  Mark your calendars for September 18-19, 2008 to
  join us at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim,
  California.
• Oct 14, 2008 -Oct 16, 2008National Training
  Institute for School-Based MentoringYouthFriends,
  Kansas City, MO - Join colleagues from across
  the country for in-depth sessions on the key
  components of a successful school-based mentoring
  effort.
• January
• National Mentoring Month
• Thank Your Mentor Day

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O Ambassadors Program

• Weekly After School Program
• International Volunteer Leadership Trip
• Leaders Today Program
• 10 students
• 7 students to Tanzania
• 1 student to China
• 50,000 in travel scholarships
• www.oambassadors.org or www.leaderstoday.org