MENTORS, MINDSETS AND ROLE MODELS OVERVIEW VIDEO "Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction." --John Crosby ANNOUNCER A good mentor can help others see possibilities they may not see, and go farther than they thought they could. Mentoring is the focus of a new toolkit from Texas GEAR UP called "Mentors, Mindsets and Role Models." The new toolkit can help project directors, schools and community organizations explore options for creating or expanding a mentoring program. It features promising programs developed by GEAR UP projects in Texas. Each program model is profiled in a video. Reference materials provide more in-depth information on program planning, design and implementation. "I know I can make it. My mentor is there. I think I can get anywhere I want to be because he's there." --WALTER Sophomore Spring Woods High School ANNOUNCER Now in its seventh year, the SpringBoard program at Spring Branch ISD recruits and trains community members to serve as mentors to middle school and high school students. At Spring Woods High School, the program has found success as part of a GEAR UP project. LINDA We believe that all mentors need significant training to understand their role as a mentor, to understand how to get started in their mentoring relationship and then to have ongoing opportunities for training throughout their time as a mentor… DAN Once you realize that the time is minimal and the rewards are so fantastic the first thing you ask yourself is what took me so long to get into this program. "Mentoring is an absolutely crucial part of our GEAR UP program because it offers students an opportunity to see a world beyond their own." --BARBARA DAVIS GEAR UP Director East Texas GEAR UP Project ANNOUNCER An E-Mentoring program created by the East Texas GEAR UP Project benefits mentees… and their mentors. --The mentees are GEAR UP students in rural school districts. Many of them do not see college as viable option. --The mentors are secondary education majors at Stephen F. Austin State University. These future educators are learning to advise, encourage and motivate students. Linda Black … There was a need for this program because from what the statistics show about many of the small rural districts around East Texas, there was a lack of college-going culture. JULIA MEDINA I didn't go to college and I didn't know what information to give him and that's why I encouraged him to have a mentor. "For a lot of these kids this will be a major influence in their life at the time when it is needed most." --CHRIS OEFINGER GEAR UP Director Northeast Texas Community College ANNOUNCER At Northeast Texas Community College in Mt. Pleasant, a student organization called Brother to Brother is opening windows of hope and opportunity for at-risk youth. With support from NTCC's GEAR UP project and COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS, Brother to Brother offers student-to-student mentoring at nearby school districts. CARLA The student that we find benefits the most from a mentor is the student who is lacking a positive relationship with a caring adult. AUDRIC I think the most important message that they have to hear from us is that you still have a future… … it's always time to make things better, you know, but it has to start here though, this is the most important time. LABRANDON I really can't explain, but its awkward a little bit, he is just always there like your conscience, like always on ya. Like a big brother I never had. "What's surprised me the most is how much time parents are willing to put into this program." --TINA ATKINS GEAR UP Director Region One ESC GEAR UP Project "Parents that have been mentored start to mentor other parents. It's a natural process where they start to empower one another." --MARTHA CANTU GEAR UP Director UT-Pan American GEAR UP Project ANNOUNCER Two parent-to-parent mentoring programs in the Rio Grande Valley are helping parents play a more meaningful role in their children's education. Both programs—"Abriendo Puertas," an initiative of the Region One ESC GEAR UP project in partnership with Texas A&M University, and "Las Platicas Academy" developed by the UT Pan American GEAR UP Project—train parents to inform and motivate other parents to get involved in their children's education. Dr. Ida Acuna-Garza We have found that the small group interaction has been really tremendous in bringing in parents and helping them feel comfortable about asking questions, either with an issue with their children, or with an issue at school… Liz Professionals often lose touch with the way to teach parents. When we train parents and then parents train other parents, the parents that are learning are more determined to follow through with whatever they're being taught. "Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." --Lady Bird Johnson ANNOUNCER All video and supporting print materials in the Mentors, Mindsets and Role Models toolkit can be viewed or downloaded free of charge on the Texas GEAR UP web site--texasgearup.com. 2009 Texas Education Agency – All Rights Reserved