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Home > Action Tips: Start a Peer Mentoring Program at Your School

Action Tips: Start a Peer Mentoring Program at Your School

Mentoring

Starting a new school is hard, especially if you are new in town. Help incoming freshman and new students in your school by starting a mentoring program. 

 

Brainstorm

Get a committee together and think of an outline for the program. Use our example as a starting point.

  • Goal: To have older students help younger 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. Impress him or her by making a power point presentation of the plan.

 

Sign Ups

Advertise by posting 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.

 

Mentor your Mentors 

Once everyone is signed up, have a mentor training session. Some activities can be:

  • Ice breakers
  • Scavenger hunts to see how well they know the school.
  • Give a mentor a situation that would likely happen to see how he or she could 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:

 

Tell us what you're doing. GO [5]

 

Who: 
Club [6]
School [7]
With Your Friends [8]
Where: 
At School [9]
In Your City [10]
In Your Neighborhood [11]
Time: 
One Semester [12]
One Summer [13]
One Year [14]
Issues: 
Bullying and Violence [15]
School Violence [16]
Education [17]
Arts in Education [18]
Education Inequalities [19]
High School Dropouts [20]
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Source URL: http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/actionguide/start-a-peer-mentoring-program-your-school

Links:
[1] http://twitter.com/share
[2] http://www.bbbsa.org/
[3] http://www.nwrel.org/mentoring
[4] http://www.mentoring.org
[5] http://www.dosomething.org/projects
[6] http://www.dosomething.org/category/who/club
[7] http://www.dosomething.org/category/who/school
[8] http://www.dosomething.org/category/who/with-your-friends
[9] http://www.dosomething.org/category/where/at-school
[10] http://www.dosomething.org/category/where/in-your-city
[11] http://www.dosomething.org/category/where/in-your-neighborhood
[12] http://www.dosomething.org/category/time/one-semester
[13] http://www.dosomething.org/category/time/one-summer
[14] http://www.dosomething.org/category/time/one-year
[15] http://www.dosomething.org/cause/bullying-and-violence
[16] http://www.dosomething.org/issues/school-violence
[17] http://www.dosomething.org/cause/education
[18] http://www.dosomething.org/issues/arts-education
[19] http://www.dosomething.org/issues/education-inequalities
[20] http://www.dosomething.org/issues/high-school-dropouts