Azalea:
Hook
1.2 Million Students Drop Out of High School in the United States alone, while Approximately 25% of incoming freshmen in high school don’t graduate on time. 75% of the 1.2 million dropouts commit crimes due to not making a stable income to provide for themselves or others as those who didn’t drop out. “School Isn’t for Everyone” is a commonly used phrase for students who tend to lack an excellent Support system, A stable home & an environment where they feel loved & comfortable to be themselves. Empower & Encourage Mentorship Is a Non- profit organization created by a group of four individuals to provide the support needed to students in low-income Cities & neighborhoods ( The Bronx, Brooklyn, Brownsville, east new york, etc.) to Find themselves and know they are not alone & they are enough. The purpose behind our organization is to help teens get out of the streets and away from gang violence and provide a safe after-school program for them to speak to someone who’s willing to listen, help them and get advice from. Our Motto “Is You Are Enough don’t let your lack of guidance now deter you from your plan, I AM THE FUTURE !”
Pros & Cons
Creating a mentoring program seems to have many significant advantages and possible outcomes. The advantages also have disadvantages. For example, coming across Mixed Pairs: a mentor & mentee are supposed to be a perfect match to build a better relationship to work together. A forced pair causes a lack of attention and work ethic, leaving a mentee to feel unwanted and alone, which affects the purpose of our program. Another disadvantage is the Aggravation of the mentors as they may think that their mentee isn’t willing to follow directions or even see growth. Mentees can also get aggravated as they might feel they are not getting enough guidance or support as they wanted. On a good note, an advantage is Mentor-Mentee Recognition: giving a mentee a sense of belonging and achieving goals can lead to a more remarkable improvement in their everyday life and performance. Another benefit is a skill Book; mentoring isn’t only talking and leaving your mentee alone after one inch of success; mentoring is a Big Sister/Brother system where your mentee should be able to rely on you for help, guidance, and positive outcome.
Worksite:
- 11 Facts About High School Dropout Rates. DoSomething.org. (n.d.). https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-high-school-dropout-rates.
Hatem:
Research
Our program aims to impact the Bronx’s younger generations. Our mentoring program will make an effort to create learning opportunities that benefit students, families, and communities in many ways. We will include after-school options that will help children thrive socially, mentally, and academically and discourage them from developing destructive behaviors, increasing physical activity, keeping them off the streets, and providing a safe and supportive environment. Since it seems that low-income families have fewer benefits for students, such as after-school services, the program will be offered in the Bronx. The program’s positioning in disadvantaged Bronx communities will ensure that it reaches thousands of racially and ethnically diverse low-income students, allowing them to pursue their schooling and avoid becoming dropouts. According to “National center for education statistics” for “dropout rates,” it states that “ The status dropout rate for Asian 16- to 24-year-olds (1.9 percent) was lower than the rates for their peers who were White (4.2 percent), of Two or more races (5.2 percent), Black (6.4 percent), Hispanic”. The statistic illustrates that while most African Americans and Hispanics live in low-income households, they have a greater risk of dropping out of school. Teenagers in low-income families face many obstacles in keeping up with education, and as a result, they often drop out. Some of these challenges are Unemployment, family instability, poverty, violence, and drugs. Also, according to “American psychological Association,” it demonstrates that “Disadvantaged communities influence child and adolescent development through the lack of resources (playgrounds and parks, after-school programs) or negative peer influences (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). For instance, students living in poor communities are more likely to have dropouts as friends, which increases the likelihood of dropping out of school”. Furthermore, another source from “Daily News” states, “Only 54% of the kids who stuck around to attend high school in the district graduated within four years. 93% of the district’s students are economically disadvantaged; the power of learning is sometimes lost in the darkness of an unpaid electric bill”. These figures are from the Bronx, a surprising figure because about half of the students drop out, and nothing was said about it.
There are no services in a position to help these vulnerable communities. As a result, the establishment of our program would have a significant positive impact on Bronx families and provide students with the opportunity to concentrate on academic success and improving their lives. In a low-income neighborhood, establishing a youth mentoring program strengthens and expands the youth’s resources, for example, according to “Youth. Gov” “Mentoring can help youth as they go through challenging life transitions, including dealing with stressful changes at home or transitioning to adulthood. Close, healthy, supportive relationships between mentors and mentees that last for a significant portion of time are central to success.” This highlighted the value of a mentoring program in the Bronx, as it demonstrates the benefits that a mentoring program will provide to the community
Worksite:
- “The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions (National Center for Education Statistics).” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16.
- Rumberger, Russell. “Poverty and High School Dropouts.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, May 2013, www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2013/05/poverty-dropouts.
- Ryley, Sarah, et al. “Parents in South Bronx School District, NYC’s Worst, Struggle to Find Promising Options.” Nydailynews.com, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2018, www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/failing-south-bronx-schools-affected-student-life-home-article-1.2150189.
- “Benefits for Young People.” Benefits for Young People | Youth.gov, youth.gov/youth-topics/mentoring/benefits-mentoring-young-people.
- 11 Facts About High School Dropout Rates. DoSomething.org. (n.d.). https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-high-school-dropout-rates.
Kelly:
Timeline and Measure of Results
When it came to creating a timeline for our mentorship project, we created a color-coded Gantt Chart in which we distribute the task and dates to the members of the group according to their color of identification. For instance one member had the color blue, the second member pink, the third (orange), and the fourth (red), we put the task. On the left side of the task, we list the Gant chart abstract budget narrative and presentation. Placing the task on the left made it easy for the members to keep track of what they had to do. next to the task right above the area where the group members would designate their task, is the date. From day one, April 22 of 2021 to the last day May 15 of 2021, we manage to work distributed.
In between those dates once a week or twice a week we would meet to figure out who’s going to do the next step. Although this wasn’t the easiest part due to the difference in the schedule, we made it happen. We made sure that if a member weren’t able to attend the zoom meeting, another member would help them catch up within our group chat. We confirmed the dates of our discussion through the group chat if we needed help with any of the tasks and checked up on us to make sure every member was working in sync.
To assure ourselves of our progress throughout the program, we plan to survey the mentors and mentees twice four times a year, twice per semester of the student’s school year. We will collect data on how the mentees and mentors answer regarding our job. We consider our participant’s opinions to better the following year’s success since we are a long-term program. It’s imperative and critical for us to collect data and analyze the results of our job.
Wendy:
Long term effects and goals, if relevant
During our mentorship program, we would be concentrating on the community from the Bronx where we want to support the needy teenagers from middle school to high school by providing an afterschool program. This project would be in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, and our group would be using the school site’s space for our afterschool activities. After our grant money has run out, we would apply for public, private, and local agency foundations to sustain our income. Our project would provide three days a week section with two hours of meeting with the mentors and mentees. Each unit incorporates activities such as sports, games, snacks, and school assignment assistance for the students. Throughout this program, we would like to aim for each youth to have better academic performance and life outcomes through their periods of development. Mentors would share their worldviews, new experiences, and positive values, which would help them gain a positive attitude, decrease their violent behavior and reduce the likelihood of initiating illegal drugs and alcohol. As the youth avoid negative behaviors, it would help them improve their school attendance record and build a better attitude about school. Once the mentors build a healthy relationship with the youth, it would most likely influence them to change the youth perceptions of parental relationships and better likelihoods for moving on to higher education. Apart from these, we implement several activities to aid the youths to enhance self-esteem, self-confidence by having each student build their social network/skill on working with their mentor. Wherefore, mentors would become their positive social model and guide the teens to the proper role.
