1. Mentoring students in a comprehensive school Cougar Cubs Cockeysville Middle School Deborah W. Magness Principal

2. WHY? Mentoring can help chronically absent students break the cycle and reduce their absentee rate. Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school. Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 37% less likely than their peers to skip a class. Students at-risk for not graduating were 36% more likely to aspire to enroll in and graduate from college if they had a mentor. Youth who had a mentor growing up are 55% more likely to later be enrolled in college. Students who have a mentor are 130% more likely to lead in sport/club. (www.mentoring.org)www.mentoring.org Mentoring has also been shown to improve attendance, the report states. "It turns out kids really care that people care that they are at school, and that's not always clear to them in really big institutions and with parents under a ton of other pressures," ​ Shapiro says. ​ (US News and World Report) Mentoring can help the disengaged/disconnected student feel more connected.

3. History of Cougar Cubs We felt the need that some students needed more than the time with teachers during classes. We were struggling with meeting the needs of a specific group of students. Not necessarily defined by a specific subgroup but those who seemed disengaged in school. We did look at those with a history of low grades, poor attendance

4. Finding the time Initially modified our master schedule on a monthly basis Mentors met with mentees during a designated time one time a month This became more of a challenge as the curriculum timelines became more regimented. We were very scripted about what we were going to do with our “mentees”

5. We use the I drive to list Cougar Cubs and their mentor.

6. How it works Provide teachers with tips on maintaining a successful cougar cub mentorship Schedule a meet & introduce visit Mentors contact parent/guardian to introduce themselves and explain mentoring program Mentors schedule and keep lunch dates with your Cougar Cub Mentors monitor interim and report card grades and behavior Mentors encourage, support, reward the positives Mentors acknowledge special events; holidays, birthday, grade improvement.

7. Creative ways to mentor and support Teachers (mentors) began to make connections with students and found common interests Help with projects Help with reviewing for tests Help with obtaining needed supplies Support them in an activity (attending, etc.)

8. Girls on Track

9. Mentors watching their Cubs in a school play.

10. Athletes serving athletes This teacher was already involved in ASA before “Nolan” arrived to CMS. As a result of both of their involvement in ASA, she was able to go on to mentor and support him in ways other staff could not.

11. We looked beyond the files… Looked at students from non-traditional Home situations (group homes, MV, etc.) Gathered information from elementary schools Students who moved into the school after the year started.

12. Look for unusual/out of the box, Mentors. Custodians SRO Cafeteria workers Clerical Para-educators

13. Questions?