The Road to Peer Mentoring: What do we do with these KIDS? Jennifer Roskelley & Jerilyn Smith “I wanted to join the Peer Mentoring Program because I’m new to the school and wanted to make friends”

What is Peer Mentors?  Mentoring program to get students involved and connect to school  Promotes positive and supportive relationships  Student driven  Collaboration between age levels and schools  Opportunity for students to build relationships, mentor others and make a difference  Academic, social-emotional, interactive, fine arts and self-expression activities  Targeting 1-4 grade student who have been identified as “at risk” “I am the youngest and always wanted a little sibling.”

Selection- Mentors  Open to all 7 th and 8 th grade students  After school club  Must be dedicated and committed  Review of application (see copy of application in handout) “My mentee is A LOT like me, my friends in the club see us together and they say she is a mini me!”

Selection- Mentees  Teacher evaluations  WCSD Behavior screening Rank Form Adapted from Walker & Severson, 1991  ~6 weeks into the school year  All students  5 “externalizers”  5 “internalizers”  Top 3 “internalizers” from each class were selected  Other students referred as needed “The first time I met my mentee I thought that he was really quite, but as we went along we got to be close and it’s been a lot of fun”

Training  Positive feedback/specific praise  Talking with children/ open- ended questions  Basic development skills at each age level  Role Playing  Creating weekly activities (monthly themes)  Create journals and name tags  “Mentee wish list”  Peer mentor representative election What to Change  How to handle “bad” kids  How to work with 2 mentees and spend time equally with them  Conversation starters “My first day I thought, Oh my goodness this kid is CRAZY!”

Activities Monthly themes  Skittles- get to know you game  Sledding  Bingo  Balloon Pop  Puppet Show  Flower planting  Partner reading  Word Puzzles  Brain teasers  Reading  Crafts  Finger painting  Snowman craft  Tree personalizer  Sugar cube castles  Cookie decorating  Cards  Loved ones  I’m thankful for… “The first day with my mentee I felt confused and awkward”

Journals  Mentor-created journals  Weekly Behavior/Participation Rankings, 1 – 5 for tracking  Weekly “journal starters”  “Today, me and my mentee...”  “I enjoyed...”  “One thing I want to change is...”  “Something I need to work on is...”  “One thing I taught my mentee is...”  “One thing my mentee taught me is...”  “Today I learned that...”  “Something I want to try with my mentee is...”  “The biggest challenge/success I had this week was...” “My mentee taught me no matter how much older (or bigger) you can find your best friend anywhere.”

Celebrating the Mentors  Root beer Floats  Candy bars  End of year celebration  Mentor of the Day  Journal Sharing  Perfect Attendance “I have taught my mentee to communicate and talk to people”

Relationships Formed  Academic Successes  “I helped my mentee learn her 11’s times tables today!”  Bonding  “One thing that I got of Peer Mentors today that I didn’t expect was creating a bond.”  Similarities discovered  Interests “Today I learned that my mentee is an amazing performer. (from a performer)”  Fears  “One thing I learned about my mentee today is that he gets stressed easily, just like me. The bus bell rang and he was very worried that he wouldn’t get there in time because the door was locked. I do things like that too.” “I loved the first day because her and I just loved each other, she gave me a hug on the first day when she had to leave”

What we found out in the end- Mentor Results  Training  21% Kind of helpful  58% Helpful  21% Very helpful  94% felt prepared to work with their Mentee  97% felt they made a connection with their Mentee  What to change…  Classroom experience-Packets  More organization  Start sooner!  Class instead of a club  Mentees fill out a questionnaire to help the mentors get to know them better Positive feedback Basic developmental skills at each age level Open ended questions Monthly planning activities “Two of the best things I think have happened during peer mentors is truly getting to know your kid and having a connection with them”

Mentors VS Mentees Overall Experience “They taught me how to laugh at my mistakes and enjoy the little things you’d miss if you weren’t paying attention.”

How to make it your own…  Find your area of need  Team approach  Collaboration  Encourage the students to create the program  Cross grade level, cross schools, cross abilities etc.  Get creative  Just go with it and have fun  Change and adapt as you go “I got to help this student/child with friend-making skills and I loved how I know that they knew that I was always there to help with school related or personal problems ”

What was the greatest thing you learned from being in Mentor Club (from Mentors)? “ I feel like I have really opened up so many opportunities to lean and meet new people, not only the kids but the other mentors I would have never met otherwise” “I have really enjoyed watching the kids step out of their comfort zones and being in a great environment” “No matter how old you are there is always a friend there for you.” “I taught my mentee whether if your shy or outgoing, you should stay true to yourself.” “I taught my mentee how to feel more comfortable when speaking in front of others” “My mentee taught me to have a positive attitude no matter what.” “My mentee is so outgoing she made me come out of my shell even more!” “My mentee has taught me how to deal with rebellious children just a little bit better than I was able to do before.”

What was the best thing about being in Mentor Club (from Mentees)?  “My mentor was really nice and helped me.”  “I liked the fun activities.”  “Being with my mentor and making crafts. My mentor was always happy.”\  “I liked the ice cube castles.”  “I liked the ice cream.”  “They [the mentors] were fun to play with and they helped me.”  “It was pretty fun. I liked talking about the dancing flower in the puppet show.”  “I liked how my mentor made my seeds grow.”  “I liked making things with my mentor. She was very nice.”  “I liked having a mentor. She was funny!”  “She was nice and she was pretty and she helped me.”