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Prepared & Presented By:Renata Cobbs FletcherConsultant, M.H. West & Co.Persistently Dangerous Schools Grantee ConferenceSeptember 20-21, 2011

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PURPOSE OF WORKSHOP

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• To provide PSD grantees with practical applications and strategies for successfully creating or revising a life coaching (mentoring) program for the PSD project

• To provide an opportunity for best practice exchange and brainstorming on successes and challenges

ICE BREAKER

Who was/is the most important mentor in your life? Why?

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WHY MENTORING IN PSD?

Better academic performance for students Better school attendance for students Decreased likelihood of drug and/or

alcohol use Decreased violent behavior in students Stronger likelihood of students attending

college

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DEFINING MENTORING: WHAT IS IT?

A relationship between a youth and a caring adult that supports the youth in overcoming barriers and reaching his or her full potential academically and socially

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EXERCISE: GROUP ACTIVITY & REPORT OUT

Accomplishments DisappointmentsHow best practice-saturated are your current approaches (exercises)?

What should continue?What should stop?What should start?

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REFINING/EXPANDING THE PSD MENTORING MODEL

GroupOne-to-OneService-based mentoringCareer-based mentoring

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1:1 MENTORING

Must meet consistently (4 hours/month) – participant’s choice

Various activities – participant’s/mentee’s choice

Informal conversations

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1:1 ADVANTAGES

Deeper, more meaningful relationships

More flexibility with meeting times and locations

Time and transportationOther advantages?

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1:1 CHALLENGESResistance by students (hierarchy)Demanding for programs – intensive recruitment, training, supervision of mentors

Challenging/off-putting for potential mentors

Harder to retain mentors/bigger feelings of mentor failure

Other challenges?

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GROUP MENTORINGMust meet consistently as a group – ideally the same group – same time and place (most of the time)

Longer sessionsMore structured – often topic driven, determined by mentors and students

Sometimes curriculum driven

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GROUP MENTORING: ADVANTAGES

Fewer mentors requiredLess intensive recruitmentLess demanding on staff timePotentially more appealing to students

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GROUP MENTORING: ADVANTAGES

Relationships and support not always as strong

Could foster feelings of academic “institutionalization”

Less commitment from life coaches and students – easier to rationalize not showing up

Other advantages?

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GROUP MENTORING: CHALLENGES

Groups can change configurations and relationships can be lost

If groups are too large, relationships can be lost

Curriculum and facilitation can end up being more like a class

Other challenges?

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COMBINATION: GROUP + 1:1

Group focus with supplementary and pre-matched 1:1

Group focus with supplementary and “naturally evolving”, spontaneous 1:1

1:1 Focus with supplementary group meetings (occasional)

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COMBINATION: GROUP + 1:1: ADVANTAGES

Best of both worldsOffsets challenges of both modelsOther advantages?

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COMBINATION: GROUP + 1:1: CHALLENGES

Any challenges?

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SERVICE-BASED MENTORING

Same best practice guidelines as other types of mentoring

Activity-drivenCan be completed as 1:1 or group

mentoring

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SERVICE-BASED MENTORING: ADVANTAGES

Students gain sense of “giving back”Other advantages?

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SERVICE-BASED MENTORING: CHALLENGES

May be perceived as work by students

Other challenges?

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CAREER-BASED MENTORING: ADVANTAGES

Exposure for students to a range of career opportunities

Exposure for students to work environments and cultures

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CAREER-BASED MENTORING: CHALLENGES

May be intimidating/uncomfortable to some students to be in workplace environments

May not be adequate opportunities to match students with their priority interest

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TEAM EXERCISE

Write a mission statement for the mentoring component of your PSD program (main purpose of mentoring program)

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WHAT MAKES A GOOD MENTOR?A nonjudgmental attitude

Good listening skillsAn ability to help participants stay focused on the big picture

A willingness to offer guidance, support and assistance with personal and school-related challenges

An ability to help students problem-solve and think about the choices they can make

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RECRUITING, MATCHING & RETAINING

Case study (Susie Mentor)

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CLOSING Q&A

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." ~ Arthur Ashe

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