Elementary After School Mentoring

After School Mentoring carefully matches students in grades 3-5 with caring and responsible community members. Mentors and students meet at the school one day a week for an hour and a half throughout the academic year. With the support of a school Site Leader, mentors and students participate in fun and meaningful activities to help build social, emotional, and academic skills.

Together with mentors and students:

• Work on setting and achieving academic and personal goals
• Plan and carry out fun service-learning projects
• Make connections between academic and real-world success while working on school assignments
• Support the development of the students’ unique strengths.

After School mentors are provided with comprehensive training sessions and support throughout the program and a qualified school Site Leader is present at each mentoring session to provide direction and guidance. Prospective mentors should be willing to commit to at least one year with the program.

After School Mentoring currently operates programs in many of our elementary schools.

MENTORING SESSIONS

What does an Elementary After School Mentoring session look like?

• Students arrive after school dismissal and have a snack
• Mentors arrive
• Site Leader welcomes group and explains the plan for the day
• Mentor/student activity time
• Students say goodbye and board bus to go home
• Mentors and Site Leader have a brief check-in meeting

Activities

Planned activities may include, but are not limited to:

• Fun and educational get-to-know-you activities such as games, puzzles, discussion topics, craft projects, etc.
• Working on the students’ homework and drawing connections between academic and real-world success
• Completing lessons that focus on building resilience, understanding one's potential, and dealing with stress
• Helping students develop a set of short and long-term goals to achieve during the course of the year—academic, social, and personal
• Designing and performing service-learning projects that will build a sense of attachment to and responsibility toward the school or the greater community, such as starting a recycling program, planting flowers, or collecting products for a local food bank

HOW DO I BECOME A MENTOR?

Step 1: 

Anyone wishing to be a volunteer with SMCPS will need to visit the SMCPS Volunteer Information Webpage and complete the steps indicated to become a registered SMCPS Volunteer. 

Step 2:

After you have completed Step 1, we will contact your references and SMCPS Safety and Security will initiate a background check for all new volunteers.  Next, we will contact you for a brief phone interview.  During the interview, we will ask you a few questions, and then arrange a time for a mentor training session.  The training takes approximately an hour and a half, and we will work with you to find a convenient time and location to meet.

Step 3: 

After you have completed Steps 1 & 2, we will contact your references and SMCPS Safety and Security will initiate a background check for all new volunteers.  Next, we will contact you for a brief phone interview. During the interview, we will ask you a few questions, and then arrange a time for a mentor training session. The training takes approximately an hour and a half, and we will work with you to find a convenient time and location to meet.

For more information on After School Mentoring or for assistance with applying to become a mentor, please contact Terri Cox, Supervisor of Student Services and Special Programs at tjcox@smcps.org.