Los Angeles Team Mentoring, L.A.'s leading nonprofit organization, operates under a model created by the Princeton Center for Leadership, which guides middle school students from challenging urban neighborhoods to reach their full potential and develop their leadership skills. As you can imagine, the LAUSD school shutdown and the economic effects of the pandemic have greatly affected students and their families. Particularly affected are Black and Latino students, who have additionally been coping with the mental and emotional effects of recent social injustice events.
To counteract the potential negative effects, LATM's Director of Programs, Mr. William Figueroa, spent the summer creating a virtual mentoring program: e-Works. The program is so successful, it is being used as a blueprint by other organizations around the country.
LATM’s e-mentoring model is a virtual team-based approach to mentoring. Utilizing an interactive curriculum and an online platform, the program is designed to build students' social and emotional learning skills. Teams are composed of 3-4 adult mentors and 12-15 youth connecting weekly via email and video conferencing. The program is a weekly 1-hour commitment on a scheduled day and time, along with three Saturday virtual field trips and workshops. This program runs from the end of September 2020 to June 2021.
In 1992, LATM launched its first after-school mentoring program at Horace Mann Middle School, located in South Los Angeles. Its team-based mentoring model, developed by the Princeton Center for Leadership, was instituted to train and encourage that leadership, the benefits of which have long been helping to modify the effects of gang activity, violence, poverty and high drop-out rates of young people. Since its inception, the organization has impacted the lives of 28,000 young people through 2.7 million hours of after school mentoring. The organization focuses on the critical non-school hours – after-school, weekends and summers – to ensure that students have a safe and structured programming and access to trusted adult role models. Youth enroll in LATM’s program in 6th, 7th and 8th grade.
Although LATM does not provide tutoring, students in the program not only earn higher grades—but go on 4 years later to graduate at a 22% higher rate—in spite of 29% of those same students coming from homes where neither parent has graduated from high school. In addition, 100% of LATM youth have increased self-esteem—giving them the critical foundation they need to dream big and succeed at all things in life.
Learn more in this interview.
Why is mentoring such a positive experience for those students involved?
The answer to this question is two-fold. In terms of being an adolescent (11-14), this is a time in our development when we struggle with self-esteem, puberty, fitting in, peer pressure and hormonal changes—and, in today’s society, we must also include the anxiety our kids are facing with starting to engage in social media. It’s a time when we feel uncertain and unsure of ourselves which typically leads to a decline in our self-esteem as we navigate through these tumultuous and difficult years. And mentoring our students during this time, helps to boost their self-esteem and confidence, offers emotional support and positive self-discovery.
When we layer in the factors that put our youth at-risk, mentoring also offers our kids numerous positive opportunities such as: an opportunity to interact with positive and stable role models, helps with developing a healthier sense of self, improved interpersonal skills and aids with reducing negative unhealthy behaviors. But overall, mentoring helps vulnerable youth to feel included, to see their incredible potential and to feel that they count and matter!
How does mentoring need to adapt to the e-mentoring format?
As mentioned earlier, our kids today communicate and forge relationships through social media. Furthermore, whether positive or negative, the internet is also a place where many of our kids are getting information and adopting their values and belief systems. And just like many other aspects of our society and classroom instruction, the mentoring world must remain flexible and adapt and change with the times.
With this in mind, adapting to an e-format is precisely meeting kids where they feel the most comfortable communicating and socializing. I must add however, I don’t suggest abandoning face-to-face mentoring, I’m suggesting mentoring programs should integrate both approaches— a virtual format combined with in-person mentoring. There is also an added benefit with e-mentoring programs and that is, it reduces windshield time and geographical limitations allowing mentees and mentors to meet more conveniently. The convenience of e-mentoring also helps mentors and mentees to communicate freely, at any time.
What are some of the benefits of being involved in mentoring students?
Just like any giving back or service to the community opportunity, mentoring offers personal fulfillment— an increased sense of accomplishment from serving vulnerable youth. Oftentimes mentors share that they themselves improve their leadership, communication and interpersonal skills from mentoring as well as have reported gaining a deeper understanding/awareness of the needs of adolescent and underserved youth.
ABOUT LOS ANGELES TEAM MENTORING:
LATM’s core team mentoring model, TeamWorks, includes a team of three mentors consisting of a teacher, a college student, and a community/business volunteer that utilize an activity-based curriculum enabling students to develop social emotional skills and resiliency. In addition, LATM conducts Summer Leadership Camp whose goal is to give students the college knowledge needed to become competitive applicants. The LATM program is now available in 10 locations:
Wilmington Middle School in Wilmington • John Burroughs Middle School in Mid-Wilshire • Luther Burbank Middle School in Highland Park • Peary Middle School in Gardena • Johnnie Cochran Middle School in Mid-City • Webster Middle School in West LA • Edison Middle School in South LA • Pacoima Middle School in the San Fernando Valley • Richard Merkin Middle School in Downtown LA/Pico-Union • Gang Reduction & Youth Development (GRYD), Watts
For more information, please visit www.latm.org
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