Research in Action Series

School-Based Mentoring

Overview of Research in Action Series

• MENTOR has developed an innovative series - Research in Action

• Translates the latest research on mentoring into tangible strategies for mentoring practitioners.

• Makes the best available research accessible and relevant to the mentoring field.  

• Using the Research in Action series, programs can ensure their practices are based on current research, resulting in improved services and better impacts for young people.

• 10 issues

• Each issue provides:  – Research– Action – Resources

Overview of Research in Action Series

Research in Action Issues:1. Mentoring: A Key Resource for Promoting Positive

Youth Development2. Effectiveness of Mentoring Program Practices3. Program Staff in Youth Mentoring Programs:

Qualifications, Training, and Retention4. Fostering Close and Effective Relationships in Youth

Mentoring Programs5. Why Youth Mentoring Relationships End6. School-Based Mentoring7. Cross-Age Peer Mentoring8. Mentoring Across Generations: Engaging 50+ Adults

as Mentors9. Youth Mentoring: Do Race and Ethnicity Really

Matter?10. Mentoring: A Promising Intervention for Children of

Prisoners

Mentor Michigan Webinar Series

• www.mentormichigan.org

• Click on “Training & Technical Assistance”

Issue 6: School-based Mentoring

• Michael Karcher, Ed.D., Ph.D., University of Texas at San Antonio

• Carla Herrera, Ph.D., Public/Private Ventures

• Issue available for free download at MENTOR’s website– www.mentoring.org– “Access Research” Tab Research in

Action

Issue 6 - Overview

• Introduction

• SB & CB Approaches to Mentoring

• SBM Outcomes

• Characteristics of Effective Programs

• Questions/Discussion

Introduction

• School-based mentoring is now the most common form of formal mentoring in the U.S.– Close to 870,000 adults are mentoring children in

schools

• School-based mentoring:– Is a very different intervention than the

community based model– Does benefit the youth, primarily in the areas of

peer relationships and school-related areas– Necessitates several practices to maximize

benefits for youth

SB v. CB Approaches to Mentoring

Strengths of SBM Challenges of SBM

Supervised matches Limited time

Reach underserved children

Duration/pauses in relationship

Opportunities to influence school

outcomes

Types of activities available

Often occur in presence of peers

Often occur in presence of peers

Strengths of SBM

• Supervised matches

• Reach underserved youth

• Opportunity to influence school outcomes

• Often occur in the presence of peers– Insight into social skills and

relationships– Improvements in peer relationships

Challenges of SBM

• Limited time

• Duration/pauses in relationship

• Types of activities available

• Often occur in the presence of peers– Inhibit match from developing close and

personal relationship

Costs for SBM & CBM

• Costs are similar – about $1,000 per match per year.

• Variations in cost per match

• How many hours of mentoring received for every dollar spent?– School-based mentoring more

expensive per hour

Outcomes-Based Analysis

Dollar for dollar, school-based mentoring yields comparable benefits

to community-based mentoring

• When determining program’s potential value, costs must be weighed with type of services being provided and population being served.

• Considering outcomes yielded for a given price is likely a better strategy.

SBM – Who Benefits the Most?

• Age of mentees– Nature of relationship and enthusiasm for

program changes as the mentee gets older

• Gender of mentees and perception of what being mentored means– Girls benefiting slightly more than boys– Girls are more receptive to the idea of

mentoring as a “helping relationship” versus a “social opportunity”

SBM – Who Benefits the Most?

• Characteristics of mentee– Academic performance– Grade level

• Not all youth benefit in same way – does not imply that SBM should stop serving youth with smallest benefits

Characteristics of Effective SBM Programs

• Mentor Support

• Types of Activities

• Increasing Longevity

• Terminating Effectively

• Summer Contact

Mentor Support

• Pre-match & ongoing training• Regular staff support • Contact with case managers at the

school• Actively seek out mentors• School support

Tailor the type and amount of support to the needs of the mentors

Types of Activities

Instrumental• Overly focused• Mentor driven• Activities which

emphasize the need for the youth to improve

• Less positive outcomes

Developmental• Getting to know

youth• Having fun• Activities of interest

to the youth• Linked with match

longevity and satisfaction

Increasing Longevity

• Meet early in the school year

• Start new mentors with younger students

• Establish programs or connections with other programs in feeder schools

Terminating Effectively

• Establish closure procedures

• Train mentors on ending the relationship

• Help the youth feel positive at the end of the relationship

• Consistently implement closure procedures at the end of the school year

Summer Contact

• Increase match longevity and quality

• BBBS Study– Matches that communicated over the

summer were more likely to carry over into the following school year and lasted longer in that year

– More improvements in relationship quality

• Responsibility of program to facilitate and establishing guidelines for summer contact

Facilitating Summer Contact

• Hold agency-sponsored summer activities

• Hold a spring party to encourage matches to stay in touch by phone, letters or email over the summer

• Provide matches with ideas for games and activities they could engage in by phone, email or letters

• Send out summer newsletters

Conclusions

• SBM programs must adjust to the structure of the school

• New mentor training, staff support and match maintenance efforts, such as summer contacts, will be necessary for SBM to reach its potential

• Important to adapt SBM to better suit specific needs of boys and girls of specific ages

Action

• Part I: Is a School-Based Mentoring Program Right for You?

• Part II: Is Your School-based Mentoring Program Effective?

• Download this issue by visiting:– www.mentoring.org– “Access Research” Tab Research in

Action

National leader in creating and strengthening programs that improve lives in low-income communities. – School-based mentoring resources– Recent mentoring publications– Major mentoring initiatives

• Go to: www.ppv.org– Program Area Mentoring– Major Initiatives School-based mentoring

Public/Private Ventures (P/PV)

The Mentor Consulting Group

• Consulting firm led by Dr. Susan Weinberger, founder of the nation’s first school-based mentoring program

• www.mentorconsultinggroup.com – Resources Free MCG Publications– “Two Decades of Learned Lessons from

School-Based Mentoring” –Dr. Weinberger

The leader in expanding the power of mentoring to millions of young Americans who want and need adult mentors.– High School Mentor Activity Report– How to Build a Successful Mentoring

Program Using the Elements of Effective Practice

www.mentoring.org

MENTOR

National organization that provides training and technical assistance to youth mentoring programs– http://educationnorthwest.org/nmc– Resources School-Based Mentoring

• The ABCs of School-Based Mentoring• Keeping Matches in Touch Over the Summer

Months (Fact sheet)

Education Northwest: National Mentoring Center

Questions or Comments?

This presentation provides an overview

of Research in Action Issue 6: School-Based Mentoring

This tool was produced by MENTOR/The National Mentoring

Partnership and can be accessed on their website:

www.mentoring.org