Mentoring Program

Rationale
Mentoring is a vehicle aimed at giving students an opportunity to have an adult advocate in their corner. The One-At-A-Time Mentoring Program vision is to reduce disciplinary referrals and improve self-esteem, school attendance, and academic performance while providing a positive role model for the students. Faculty and community members serving as mentors are reliable, predictable adults who can fill a portion of the void that high-risk students often feel.

The school staff/community at Paul D. West Middle School recognize that students are going through a rapid social change. With changing families and lack of commitment to moral values and beliefs, problems of society appear daily at school. Therefore, many students feel alienated and engage in self-destructive behaviors. This is a time when students need more one on one adult guidance and direction. We can no longer depend on the family, other agencies or someone else to take responsibility for the students’ total affective development.

Program goals
Paul D. West Middle School’s Mentoring program’s major goal is to pinpoint high-risk students and make them feel important by providing a safe harbor. The program is designed to increase the academic performance of marginal learners through affective means. The mentor will use encouragement to assist in building self-esteem and to help the marginal student set attainable short/long term goals. The mentor will monitor the mentee’s progress and provide continued support and motivation. The end result is that the student will see the connection between their effort and outcome and will take responsibility for successful completion of school.

Recruitment process for adult mentors
Mentors will be recruited from school staff and community members. These people exhibit patience, tolerance and empathy for the students.

Selections of students
Students are referred for mentoring through the school’s Educational Support Team, parents, teachers, counselors and administrators. These referrals are often made when a student has poor grades, repeated discipline referrals, grade retention, and an indicated need for a positive role model.

Orientation/Training
The program is introduced to faculty members at the beginning of the school year with an inservice meeting twice a year. Community mentors will be trained in a group session at a designated time. The orientation workshop will have emphasis on the following: Responsibilities and expectations for mentors/mentees, communication techniques, developmental phases and needs of middle school students, and brainstorming of ideas/themes for mentor-mentee activities.

Program Structure
Mentors and their mentees meet one-to-one on a weekly basis. The mentor establishes rapport with the student in order to set standards and goals with the mentee. The mentor coordinator gets feedback from the students and mentors on program success.

Community/parental Involvement
Community/parental involvement are essential components to the success of the mentoring program. Parents are invited to attend events at the school and are informed who their child’s mentor will be for the 2008-2009 school year. The end of the year awards program will be a vehicle to share the mentoring partnership successes as awards are presented to each participant.