Starting a new school is hard, especially if you are new in town. Help incoming freshmen and new students at your school by starting a mentoring program. Here's how:
Brainstorm
Get a committee together and create an outline for what the program will look like. Use our example as a starting point.
- Goal: To have veteran students help new students become familiar with the school.
- How: Recruit students to be mentors by advertising around school.
- When: Mentoring program can be during school hours so everyone can participate.
- New Students: Every new student and freshman would get a mentor to help them throughout the year.
- Result: Their high school experience will be better.
Pitch
You have to get permission from your principal first. Bring the outline of what you want the program to potentially look like.
Sign Ups
Advertise by hanging posters or handing out flyers around school. You can also send a Facebook invite to all of your classmates explaining what you’re doing and why. Don't forget to utilize teachers. Have them make announcement during homeroom or see if you can get an ad in the school paper.
Mentor your Mentors
Once everyone is signed up, have a mentor training session. Some activities can include:
- Ice breakers
- Scavenger hunts to see how well they know the school.
- Give a mentor a situation that could likely happen to see how he or she would handle it.
Make sure to emphasize that a mentor:
- Listens
- Does not judge
- Knows his or her way around
Start it
Give freshman and new students a mentor. Give them a calendar of orientation days and fun events.
Other Tips
- If a mentor and student don’t get along, just switch them up!
- Don’t make the mentor meetings a total bore. Create a fun environment that will make people want to come back.
- If you want to join a mentorship program or need extra help starting your own, check these links out:
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