1. Establishing an Effective School- Based Peer Mentoring Program Dr. Margo Ross Senior Director of Development Center for Supportive Schools Ms. Christine Harris Senior National Trainer Center for Supportive Schools 2016 NPEA Annual Conference Baltimore, MD

2. CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 2

3. Who are we? Center for Supportive Schools (CSS)  Partner with schools to help create safer and more supportive, engaging, inspiring environments  Has served hundreds of schools since 1979 and our work touches tens of thousands of students, educators, and parents annually  Highly committed to implementing effective programs in partnership with communities that have large numbers of economically disadvantaged youth CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 3

4.  Engage young people as peer supporters.  Invest in building relationships and leveraging students’ strengths. They also specifically recommend CSS as a key resource for our evidence-based solutions. http://gradnation.org/report/dont-quit-me CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 4 In their 2015 report, Don’t Quit on Me: What Young People Who Left School Say About the Power of Relationships, the Center for Promise at the America’s Promise Alliance examined, from the perspective of young people themselves, the roles that relationships with adults and peers play in decisions about staying in, leaving, and returning to high school. Key recommendations for keeping students in school include: Why peer mentoring?

5.  One in three young people overall and 37% of at-risk youth report they never had an adult mentor while they were growing up.  Even if we could double the current number of volunteer [adult] mentors, recent research suggests that programs would still be reaching less than 10% of the young people in need.  Approximately 16 million youth will reach age 19 without an adult mentor. http://www.mentoring.org/program-resources/mentor-resources-and- publications/the-mentoring-effect/ http://chronicle.umbmentoring.org/mentoring-is-not-enough-we-also- need-to-move-upstream/ CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 5 A peer mentoring approach may also help close the “mentoring gap,” a national phenomenon uncovered in the 2014 report, The Mentoring Effect:

6. Panel Question Based on your experiences, what are some of the most important benefits to using a peer mentoring model? CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 6

7. What are the risks? Mentors and mentees may not fully understand their roles. Peer mentors lack life experience, wisdom of adult mentors. Mentees may feel awkward, intimidated around older peers. Negative role modeling. Peer mentors are teens themselves. There is always a danger that they will model negative behaviors and attitudes for mentees. Struggles with consistency and quality. It can be traumatic to mentees if mentors fail to show up for meetings or appear indifferent to them. Peer mentors can feel overwhelmed by the problems and needs of the youth they are working with. A cross-age peer mentoring relationship is a powerful form of youth development, but one that cannot be left to its own devices. http://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/building- effective-peer-mentoring-programs-intro-guide.pdf CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 7

8. Panel Question Have you faced any of these challenges in your peer mentoring program? Are there other challenges that stand out to you when using a peer mentoring approach? What has helped to address or overcome these challenges? CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 8

9. Effective Peer Mentoring in Action Let’s watch a brief video segment that highlights an effective peer mentoring model known as Peer Group Connection (PGC) in Union City, NJ. *Note: Please unmute your computers to hear audio. CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 9

10. Panel Question What resonates with you as you watch the PGC video? How are the experiences captured in the video similar or different from yours, personally or within your school community? CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 10

11. What are steps to establishing effective peer mentoring programs? Determine goals and objectives. Establish goals, measurable objectives and expected outcomes as an initial task. Develop a stakeholder team. This group of invested individuals should bring different skills and resources that get a program started and support its sustainability. This team should meet regularly throughout program implementation to assess progress and troubleshoot challenges. Choose skilled faculty advisors. Faculty advisors should be authentically committed to program success and to working with peer mentors. Selected individuals should be able to model strong facilitation and leadership skills for peer mentors. CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 11

12. Effective programs, continued Implement a thorough peer mentor selection process. Peer mentors should be a well-rounded and diverse group, representative of the student population. Consider recruiting students with existing leadership skills as well as students who would benefit from the opportunity to develop and practice leadership skills. Create an application process for peer mentors, which may include a student application, group and/or individual interview, and faculty recommendations. Provide robust training. Training for peer mentors should continue throughout the school year and: Create a strong support network amongst the peer mentors, Provide ongoing opportunities for peer mentors to learn and practice facilitation skills and mentoring activities, and Provide regular opportunities for peer mentors to reflect on their practice. CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 12

13. Effective programs, continued Utilize an interactive, structured, and engaging curriculum. Peer mentors should be supported by a structured curriculum that provides engaging, hands-on activities. The curriculum should be designed: With attention to the stages of group development to help students form relationships in a safe, supportive environment, To ensure both peer mentors and mentees remain engaged, with interactive and relevant activities, and To incorporate reflective practice to support students’ learning critical skills aligned to the goals and objectives of the program. Integrate program into the school day. Student commitment and consistency will be significantly enhanced by integrating the peer mentoring program into the school day, within the daily school schedule of each participating student. Address scheduling logistics in advance to avoid challenges. CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 13

14. Effective programs, continued Involve parents. Communicate regularly with parents about their child’s participation in your program, whether they are a peer mentor or mentee. Consider leveraging peer mentors to facilitate family events that include engaging activities that help foster communication between parents and their children. CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 14 Evaluate. Meet regularly throughout the year with your stakeholder team to assess your progress. Consider conducting both a process evaluation (to assess program implementation quality) and an outcome evaluation (to assess the impact of the program on participants). Student surveys are one tool that can be used to evaluate program outcomes.

15. Resources Building Effective Peer Mentoring Programs in Schools: http://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/ building-effective-peer-mentoring-programs-intro- guide.pdf http://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/ building-effective-peer-mentoring-programs-intro- guide.pdf Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™, 4 th Edition: http://www.mentoring.org/new-site/wp- content/uploads/2015/09/Final_Elements_Publication _Fourth.pdfhttp://www.mentoring.org/new-site/wp- content/uploads/2015/09/Final_Elements_Publication _Fourth.pdf Handbook of Youth Mentoring, 2nd Edition: http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book234516 Increases in Academic Connectedness and Self- esteem Among High School Students Who Serve as Cross-age Peer Mentors (and other resources by Michael Karcher, et. al): http://www.michaelkarcher.com/CAMP_site.html http://www.michaelkarcher.com/CAMP_site.html CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 15

16. Panel Question Which of these steps stands out as most important to the success of your peer mentoring program? Why? CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 16

17. What is Peer Group Connection (PGC)? A peer-to-peer group mentoring model that trains and mobilizes older/more experienced students to help ease the transition into school for incoming students and improve school culture and climate. PGC for high schools: 11 th and 12 th graders support 9 th graders PGC for middle schools: 8 th graders support 6 th graders PGC for alternative schools: More experienced students supporting incoming/newer students Each of these programs uses a distinct and developmentally appropriate curriculum. CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 17

18. PGC for High Schools CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 18

19. PGC Curriculum Sense of School Belonging Competence in Interpersonal Relationships Conflict Resolution, Anger Management, & Violence Prevention Bullying & Bystander Behavior Achievement Orientation & Motivation The PGC curriculum uses engaging, hands-on activities to address issues that have been shown to help reduce risk behaviors and produce positive student outcomes, including high school completion. Curriculum topics include: Goal Setting Coping Skills Decision Making Peer Acceptance & Resisting Peer Pressure Anger Management Stress Management Service Learning CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 19

20. The PGC Impact All Students Male Students % of Ninth Grade Students Who Graduated from High School CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 20

21. Other Results Higher grades Higher on-time promotion rates Better attendance Fewer discipline referrals Fewer instances of fighting and suspension Improved communication with peers and others CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 21

22. Panel Question What evidence do you have that PGC is having an impact in your school? These may include changes in school culture, relationships among students, relationships between staff and students, etc. CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 22

23. Last Words from Our Panel CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 23

24. For additional information about CSS or Peer Group Connection, please contact: Dr. Beshon Smith (DE/MD region) bsmith@supportiveschools.org 443.584.3316 Dr. Margo Ross (All others) mross@supportiveschools.org 609.252.9300 x 113 609.375.8513 CENTER FOR SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS Peer Mentoring 24