MENTORSHIP IN OUR SCHOOLS
The Problem
According to the 2015 edition Crime in South Carolina (published by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division), there were over 3,000 juvenile arrests (juvenile meaning that those arrested were between zero and sixteen years old) with most of these falling into the categories of larceny, breaking and entering, and aggravated assault. The Office of Adolescent Health in the United States Department of Human and Health Services conducted a study on substance use and asked high school students in South Carolina if they had used certain substances within the thirty days before the survey. 10% of students smoked at least one cigarette; 7% used chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip; 20% used a type of electronic vapor device; 25% of students had at least one alcoholic drink and 11% had at least five alcoholic drinks; 34% used marijuana; 8% used some sort of inhalant; 4% used any form of cocaine; and 5% of students used pain relievers for non-medicinal purposes. This epidemic of crime and illegal substance use is alarming for South Carolina’s younger generations, and if we are not careful, more and more students will fall victim to criminal activity. A large part of this can be attributed to students all across South Carolina lacking the mentorship and support that they need. Many students do not receive the emotional, financial, or educational support that is necessary for students to be successful and flourish. It is an unfortunate truth that many students fall victims to drugs, gangs, or violence, and this simply comes from many children finding support and stability in dangerous areas that are not the home. Many even come from abusive or neglectful homes, and some may not even have homes at all.
The Significance
This lack of mentorship is negatively affecting students all over South Carolina, as made evident by the statistics above. Students need constant support and accountability partners to help them stay focused, on course, and successful. For some students, this support can be found at home, but for many students in South Carolina, support at home is lacking. This is where the school can step in and pair high-risk students or students in need with mentors from the school and the surrounding community. These mentors would meet with their students multiple times a week to get to know them and help them navigate not just school but life in general. This kind of program could help build a system of relationships that not only benefit the students in school but will benefit the students for the rest of their life. These mentors would not be randomly assigned but would be assigned based on students’ personalities, needs, and interests. This matches would be long-term partnerships, and the student would have a constant companion, guide, mentor, and accountability partner.
This mentorship program would begin with taking any interest of each student and using it as the base of a kind of discovery curriculum. Students can explore whatever they are interested in and create their own research or service project. These projects would be left up to the student to create with guidance from the mentor assigned to them and would be an opportunity for the student to truly show leadership and take ownership of their learning and growth. The student would need to be able to present something at the end of each semester to show not only progress on the project but personal growth as well, based on a rubric created by the mentor and the cooperating school. These projects would contain substantial content and reflect higher-thinking thought processes while challenging students to grow in areas where they need more guidance. The overall goal, more than the projects, is for the students to build meaningful, lasting relationships with mentors. It is for the school to provide more individualized support for each student and to cater to each student’s individual needs rather than creating programs that only cater to the majority. This kind of individualized attention will give high-risk, high-need students the support that they need while also helping them grow as leaders. While this project would be a huge undertaking and while it would possibly take from months or years to see changes in the students, the results would be invaluable. It is so important to remember that the worthiness comes at the end, and the hard work would be completely worth it even if only one student was helped.
The Solution
The way to make this program most effective would be to phase it in by beginning in elementary schools. This is a critical time of development for students, and high-risk students need individualized attention as soon as possible. The earlier students can be paired with mentors, the higher chance for success from the program. Pairing mentors and students would begin with surveys completed partly by students and partly by teachers that collect information on the students’ personalities, interests, and needs. Potential mentors would be recruited from the community (churches, law enforcement, schools, older students, young adults with allowing schedules) to also fill out these surveys to create the best match possible. Recruiting enough mentors for students would be a significant hurdle to overcome; recruiting would happen in the summer prior to the school year. Once a large enough pool for mentors has been made, students could be matched according to the results of the surveys. Once the matches are made, the partnership would begin.
This kind of mentorship program would be run through the guidance department and would rely greatly on the guidance counselors for information, help, and advice. It would be a free program. It would be solely after school, and transportation would be provided to students who need it. Prior to the program beginning, the mentors would go through extensive training to gain the skills necessary to provide the support necessary for each individual student. Each mentor would receive a packet with information on the student including background, family history, test scores, grades, behavior files, and any other information deemed necessary by the guidance department.
Mentors and mentees would be required to meet two or three times a week for at least an hour at a time. Timesheets would be used to document progress and would be collected on a monthly basis and would be kept on file with the guidance department. The first week would be an introductory week when mentees can meet and get to know their mentor and vice versa. This is when they can establish an interest, idea, concept, or project that the student would spend the semester studying and exploring. Once a topic is selected, mentors would meet with guidance counselors or teachers to create a rubric for the student’s final project. This rubric would cater to the students’ individual needs, interest, and project. This kind of project-based learning will help students use higher-order thinking skills to create a project that they can truly take ownership of.
While the project is a significant part of the program, the relationship between mentee and mentor is far more important. This program would not just serve the student academically but also emotionally, mentally, and behaviorally. The mentor would have multiple weekly discussions concerning what the students were going through outside of school. Each week, the mentor would fill out a report to help track the student’s progress. These reports would have the mentor describe in detail the emotional, mental, and behavioral state of the student. At the end of the semester, the mentor and mentee would sit down with a teacher or guidance counselor and fill out an evaluation on the effectiveness of the mentor and program and the growth of the student. These would be added to the file, and with each semester, the program would be adjusted to make it as effective as possible. The most important job of the mentor, however, would be to help the student see past his/her circumstances no matter their background, beliefs, upbringing, or disadvantages. The mentor’s top priority would be to help his/her mentee see their potential and grow.
These mentors would be paired with students all the way through elementary school and eventually follow them to middle school or even high school. If there ever comes a point when the student no longer needs the services of the program, they can “graduate” from the mentoring program with approval from the mentor, guidance department, and principal. If a mentor reaches a point where they can no longer serve the program, a new mentor will be matched. This decision will be made with the help of the current mentor and guidance counselors.
This program would cater to all backgrounds, and through individualized planning, each student would receive differentiated instruction and guidance. The participants in this program would learn about taking ownership of their learning and about true leadership. No matter their background, each child would be encouraged to succeed, and all achievements, no matter how small, would be celebrated. At the conclusion of each school year, there would be a banquet where students would be recognized for their achievements and personal growth. The mentorship program would work with the school to establish an incentive program for students who participate whether it is an extra field day, an after-school extravaganza, extra credit, or whatever the school and guidance counselors deemed appropriate. In the end, the true reward is proving the prejudices and biases against students wrong. The true reward is changing the dialogue from “No, you can’t” to “Yes, you can.”