Teen Mentor Program
The Teen Mentor Program is designed to have high school teens mentor elementary school students one hour a week during the school day on the school grounds for the duration of the school year.
Why mentoring? The program has been implemented by the Cowlitz Substance Abuse Coalition (CSAC) in response to the 2001 County Wide Needs Assessment and follow up meetings of Local Conversations with Youth. It was determined that there are major gaps in CowlitzCounty in the area of mentoring. The Teen Mentor Program offers a way for teens to use their talents and skills as friends and role models for younger children who need additional emotional support and positive attention at school.
The 2002-2003 school year was the first year that CSAC implemented the program with the KalamaSchool District and Longview/Kelso School Districts.During the year, 12 mentor/mentee matches participated in the program. The program has grown to include Castle Rock, Kalama, Kelso, ToutleLake and Longview school districts totaling 91 mentor/mentee matches during the 2004-2005 school year.
Program implementation:
The program begins the school year with the high school coordinator posting opportunities for high school students to mentor elementary school children. The requirements are: to be at least a sophomore, ability to work as part of a team, patience, good judgment, commitment, follow through, strong academics with at least a 3.0 g.p.a., positive role modeling, good listening skills, positive attitude and values, clean appearance, and willingness to be involved in the program for at least one school year.
The screening requirements are: three letters of recommendations from teachers or school counselors, parent permission forms, and an interview with the program and site coordinators. Once the applicants have passed this process they are invited to a one day training. All different aspects of mentoring are covered during the training. After the training, the mentors are selected by the high school and program coordinators. This typically happens in early Fall.
The mentees have been selected by the elementary staff. The coordinators match up the teens to the students. The teens that have been matched, meet to create cards for their mentees and plan the first big group activity. Teacher involvement is very important for the success of the mentor/mentee match. The mentors are required to meet with their mentee’s teacher to decide the day and time that they will be coming to the classroom to meet with their mentee. They will also discuss what will be happening in the classroom when the mentor comes.
Following the mentor/teacher orientation session with the teachers, the mentors and mentees decide together what they would like to do during their weekly sessions. Activities may include: doing homework, working on hobbies, playing board games, catch or just talking. Another component of the program is the big group “Fun Activities”. These activities generally will occur after school for about an hour at least four times during the school year. During the first “Fun Activity,” the mentees parents are invited to meet the mentors and have an opportunity to have any questions they may have answered.
Long-term advantage of the mentees: The long term benefits to the mentees are a more positive attitude towards school, positive interactions with peers, cooperation in the classroom, following school rules, positive self-concept, positive interactions with adults, regular school attendance, and academic progress.
The long-term benefits for the mentors are to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors related to the prevention of substance abuse. Other benefits include: providing leadership and decision-making opportunities, fostering active involvement of students in their community, and creating supportive networks and social bonds to both the mentors and mentees.
This program is ongoing from year to year. It is designed to be done during the school day, but can be used in an after school program with appropriate adult supervision. The teachers that are currently participating in the program have seen positive results and are requesting more teen mentors for their classrooms.
For more information about the Teen Mentor Program contact Jennie Bergman at (360) 5773041
790 TMP Teen Mentor Program Narrative JB0905