Youth Mentoring  |  News and Highlights  |  Dropout Prevention

Mentoring as a Dropout Prevention Strategy

The research tells us that students who are at risk of dropping out of school can benefit greatly from having a mentor.

Mentoring results in benefits in the general areas of: academic achievement, employment or career preparation, social or behavior modification, family and parenting skills, and social responsibilities.

What Mentoring Does  - At School

• Mentored students demonstrate improved school achievement
• Mentoring increases graduation rates
• Mentoring helps improve school connectedness and motivation
• Mentored youth have more positive attitudes toward school and teachers
• Mentored youth feel more competent in completing their school work, leading to better grades
• School-based mentoring improves peer relations and connectedness to school and community
• Mentoring helps reduce absenteesism, results in less unexcused absences, and better school attendance

What Mentoring Does – At Home and in the Community

• Mentoring helps improve relationships with parents and guardians
• Mentored youth experience strengthened parental relationships and increased self worth
• Mentored youth demonstrate increased empathy towards peers and are less likely to demonstrate bullying behaviors
• Mentored youth are more likely to participate in community service activities

What Broward County Public Schools is Doing to Increase Graduation Rates

• The Youth Mentoring Office recruits and trains mentors and assists schools in matching mentors with students
• The Youth Mentoring Office collaborates with several community-based organizations who provide mentoring services to students K-12
• Research-based strategies are used by the Youth Mentoring office in the development of mentoring programs and training materials

The District’s Graduation Rate Task Force is working with schools and the community to develop strategies and implement programs and activities that make a significant difference in the lives of at-risk students.  Mentoring is one of the core components of the Graduation Rate Task Force. 

To find out more about this initiative please contact Student Services.

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