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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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