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Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series

Formal and Informal Mentoring: Strengthening Networks of Support for Young People

December 18, 2014


2014 Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series Planning Team


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Today’s Webinar

• Molly Brenner, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership

• Kent Pekel, Search Institute • Beth Fraster, Mass Mentoring Partnership • Eric Jay Rosser, Maryland Mentoring Resource Center • Mischa Toland, Greatness Now

Q & A throughout the presentation (use the Q & A panel)


Molly Brenner

Program Associate

MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership

Molly has been with MENTOR for the past two years, supporting key programs including the National Mentoring Summit, Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series, and network of affiliate Mentoring Partnerships. Previously, she was the Development and Communications Associate with the national mentoring program, Strong Women, Strong Girls.


Genesis of this conversation…

Really started with The Mentoring Effect report from 2014: • One in three youth don’t have a mentor of any kind (program or

otherwise)

• Most mentoring relationships were not programmatic (62% of youth reported having an “informal” mentor, 15% had a “structured” relationship)

• Those “informal” relationships tended to last longer

• Found that “informal” mentors provide slightly different types of support than mentors provided through programs


This led to some questions…

• If our goal is to provide a mentor to every child who needs one, what is the best way to “scale up?”

• If programmatic mentoring has a limited reach, should we target services toward those with the greatest needs?

• Given that most youth are finding mentors outside of a program context, how can we make sure these are positive, safe relationships?

• What responsibility or obligation does the formal youth mentoring field have to get involved in the “natural” mentoring space?


First, some definitions…

• “Natural” Mentoring: The meaningful relationships that develop between youth and adults they come into contact with (extended family, neighbors, coaches, employers, etc.)

• “Informal” Mentoring: Purposeful relationships that develop in an organizational or institutional context that brings youth and adults together, but without a formal, intentional “match” (afterschool staff, school personnel, camp counselors, B&GC, etc.)

• Formal Mentoring: The structured, intentional relationships that take place in mentoring programs or other youth development programs with formal matching of specific adults and youth


Another way of thinking about this…

Source: Connected Mentor


What we are talking about today

• The broad concepts behind meaningful adult-youth relationships (what makes them special and so critical)

• A framework for thinking about how any adult-youth relationships can become more meaningful and mentoring-esque

• Some innovative ways that a few Mentoring Partnerships and local service providers are trying to improve the quantity and quality of informal mentoring

• Your ideas and thoughts about how our field can bring the power of mentoring to more youth and how we can share our expertise beyond our program walls


Kent Pekel

President and CEO

Search Institute

Kent Pekel is an educator and administrator who has worked at the school, district, state, federal, and university levels. Prior to joining Search Institute in 2012, Kent served as the founding Executive Director of the University of Minnesota’s College Readiness Consortium and as the Executive Director of Research and Development in the Saint Paul Public Schools. Kent also held several senior staff-level positions in the Clinton Administration. Kent has taught at the high school level in Minnesota and at the college level in China. He serves on the boards of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership and Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest.

Understanding Developmental Relationships:

An Update on Work in Progress

Relationships and Research

Pianta, Hamre and Allen (2012):

• “Positive relationships with adults are perhaps the single most

important ingredient in promoting positive student

development. For example, when teachers learn to make modest

efforts to form a personal connection with their adolescent

students—such that the students feel known—they can

dramatically enhance student motivation in school and emotional

functioning outside of school (Roeser, Eccles, & Sameroff, 1998;

Skinner, Zimmer-Gembeck, & Connell, 1998).”

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Sources: Pianta, R.C., Hamre, B.K., Allen, J.P. (2012). Teacher-student relationships and engagement: Conceptualizing,

measuring, and improving the capacity of classroom interactions. In S.L. Christenson et al, (Eds), Handbook of research on

student engagement, p. 369;

Relationships and Research

“The common feature of successful interventions

across all stages of the life cycle through adulthood

is that they promote attachment and provide a

secure base for exploration and learning for the

child. Successful interventions emulate the

mentoring environments offered by successful

families.”

-- James Heckman and Tim Kautz, University of Chicago, 2013

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Negative Proof of the Power of Relationships

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Sources: Lieberman, M.D. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York: Crown Publishers; Baumeister, R.F.,

Twenge, J.M., & Nuss, C.K. (2002). Effects of social exclusion on cognitive processes: Anticipated aloneness reduces intelligent

thought. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83 (4), 817.

When Belonging Isn’t There: Social Exclusion and Achievement

• College undergraduates thought they were participating in a study of how personality relates to performance

• Each participant completed a personality questionnaire

• Then randomly assigned to one of three groups.

• All participants first received some valid feedback

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Sources: Lieberman, M.D. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York: Crown Publishers; Baumeister, R.F.,

Twenge, J.M., & Nuss, C.K. (2002). Effects of social exclusion on cognitive processes: Anticipated aloneness reduces intelligent thought.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83 (4), 817.

Future Belonging Condition

“You’re the type who has rewarding relationships

throughout life. You’re likely to have a long and

stable marriage and have friendships that will last

into your later years. The odds are that you’ll

always have friends and people who care about

you.”

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Future Alone Condition

“You’re the type who will end up alone later in

life. You may have friends and relationships now,

but by your mid-20s most of these will have drifted

away. You may even marry or have several

marriages, but these are likely to be short-lived and

not continue into your 30s. Relationships don’t

last, and when you’re past the age where people

are constantly forming new relationships, the odds

are you’ll end up being alone more and more.”

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Misfortune Control Condition

“You’re likely to be accident prone later in life—you

might break an arm or leg a few times, or maybe

be injured in car accidents. Even if you haven’t

been accident prone before, these things will show

up later in life, and the odds are you will have a lot

of accidents.”

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Absence Affirms Importance

Scores on section of the GRE Exam

• Future belonging condition: Average score = 68%

• Misfortune control condition: Average score = 68%

• Future alone condition: Average score = 39%

Similar results on General Mental Abilities Test

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Relationships as the Active Ingredient

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For the study, see Junlei Li and Megan Julian, “Developmental Relationships as the Active Ingredient: A Unifying Working Hypothesis of

“What Works” Across Intervention Settings, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2012. Image from

http://evidencebasedliving.human.cornell.edu/2013/02/05/new-evidence-on-fluoride/

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Part of the reason we underinvest in relationships:

Investigating Relationships

1. Analyses of existing data

2. Literature reviews on relationships and thriving

– Started with young adolescents

– Expanding to early childhood

3. National focus groups and interviews with

– Youth

– Parents

– Teachers

– Youth workers

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How do they define

and experience key

relationships that

help them grow?

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A developmental relationship is a close connection

through which a young person develops a positive

identity and a sense of agency.

Just say no!!!

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Actions that Make a Relationship Developmental

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Express CARE

Expand POSSIBILITIES

CHALLENGE Growth

Give SUPPORT

Share POWER

Express

CARE

Challenge

GROWTH Provide SUPPORT

Share

POWER

Expand

POSSIBILITIES

“Show that you like me and want the best for me.”

1. Be Present 3. Invest 5. Be Dependable

2. Be Warm 4. Show Interest

Express

CARE

Challenge

GROWTH

Provide

SUPPORT

Share

POWER

Expand

POSSIBILITIES

“Insist that I try to continuously improve.”

5. Inspire 7. Stretch

6. Expect 8. Limit

Express

CARE

Challenge


Share

POWER

Expand

POSSIBILITIES

“Help me complete tasks and achieve goals.”

9. Encourage 11. Model

10. Guide 12. Advocate

Express

CARE

Challenge


Share

POWER

Expand

POSSIBILITIES

“Hear my voice and let me share in making decisions.”

13. Respect 15. Respond

14. Give Voice 16. Collaborate

Express

CARE

Challenge

GROWTH Provide SUPPORT Share POWER

Expand

POSSIBILITIES

“Expand my horizons and connect me to opportunities.”

17. Explore 20. Navigate

19. Connect

Ongoing Interaction

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

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Challenge

Support

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A Moment When It All Comes Together

Still Many Big Questions to Answer:

Photo: Brandon Jennings

How many?

What outcomes?

With who?

How

intense?

How

varied?

What

relationships

aren’t

developmental

?

Kid

Family

Programs

Community

Care

Challenge

Support

Possibilities

Power

School

Lisa,

Age 17

Beyond Correlation

An Agenda for Change

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Ultimate Hypothesis

Increasing the number of developmental

relationships in a young person’s life and/or making

existing relationships more developmental

strengthens the young person’s positive identity

and sense of agency, which increases the chances

that the young person will grow into a thriving,

contributing adult.

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That hypothesis raises a big question:

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Going Beyond Description

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Photo Credit: Robert Cohen, Saint Louis Post-Dispatch

Networked Improvement Communities (NICs)

41


Beth Fraster

Director of Program Services Mass Mentoring Partnership Beth joined Mass Mentoring in January 2014, and has more than 25 years of experience leading, evaluating, and managing youth development programs. Beth has provided training and technical assistance to behavioral health programs throughout Massachusetts and across the country while also providing consultant services to federal agencies. Beth leads the Program Services team to promote the most effective and high-quality standards in all aspects of mentoring, and the development of sound and sustainable organizations.


Mass Mentoring Partnership



Mentoring

Positive Youth Development

Relational Psychology



Quality relationships matter…

• The vehicle for our field is the building of effective relationships between adults and youth

• Much of our program best practices are based on the creation, support and sustainability of these relationships

• Outcomes can be tied to larger level impact, but our vehicle in reaching that impact is through relationship building

• From the scientific/data/evidence-based world, we know they matter

• From the emotional/personal/qualitative world, we know they matter

• Relationships Matter



• Boys and Girls Club – City Youth Centers

• Meaningful Employment – Beyond a paycheck

• Community Colleges – Culture Shift

• Sport Programs

• Schools



As mentoring programs, we can look beyond our world/field for best practices, innovative strategies and new ways to strengthen relationships As movement leaders, we can look at ways that we can strengthen relationship building outside of formal mentoring programs to ensure outcomes are reached As community builders, we can find the intersections where our worlds meet and find common strengths to build off of and places to share resources to address challenges



Relationships Matter: Sustained, consistent and supported


Eric Jay Rosser, Ph.D.

Vice President of Service Delivery Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake/Maryland Mentoring Resource Center In his role, Eric provides leadership to the Big Brothers Big Sisters and Mentoring Partnership functions of the agency. Throughout his 21 years in education, Dr. Rosser has been an elementary and middle school teacher and has served in numerous administrative capacities, including Director of Student Support Services and Compliance, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Operations, and Interim Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to his arrival to BBBSGC Dr. Rosser served as the Deputy Assistant Superintendent for Elementary and Secondary Education for the Office of the State Superintendent in The District of Columbia.


Challenges of Positive Youth Development

• Kids today are being forced to grow up way too fast

• More parents are getting divorced

• Bullying/cyber bullying has become a very big issue

• Drinking/Drug problems

• Children not being sheltered (basically from the media TV, Music)

• Children are experiencing Trauma at an early age that is never addressed

Rhodes, Dr. Jean, Natural Mentors Help Mold lives of Teens, Study Says. University of Massachusetts, Boston, February 2005


The Importance of Working in this Space Called Mentoring

Mentoring brings young people together with a caring individual or a group of caring individuals who offer guidance, support, and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the mentee. Natural Mentoring

• Natural mentoring occurs outside of a formal mentoring program. • Natural mentors can include family members (aunts, uncles, etc.), peers, and

other adults (school staff, coaches, clergy, etc.), —people who may have opportunities for interaction with some frequency.


Natural Mentoring: Creating a Community of Hope

A study done by the University of Illinois at Chicago found that having a natural mentor was associated with:

• A greater likelihood of completing high school, attending college, and working at least 10 hours a week;

• A decreased likelihood of being in a gang and having physically hurt someone in a fight in the past year, as well as lower risk taking;

• Higher levels of self esteem and life satisfaction;

• A greater level of physical activity, as well as regular use of birth control.

Rhodes, Dr. Jean, Natural Mentors Help Mold lives of Teens, Study Says. University of Massachusetts, Boston, February 2005


Places where Natural Mentoring is “Natural”

Schools Neighborhood

Places of Worship Recreational Environments

There are a whole host of opportunities for adults to influence youth outside of formal or planned mentoring programs. For example:


How Can Others Support the Adoption of Natural Mentoring Practices?

• Engage in conversations with school, city, and religious officials about the importance of mentoring

• Design a training module on the importance of mentoring and discuss how:

• Today’s youth need guidance and direction • Mentoring doesn’t only occur formal mentoring programs • There is a power in positive informal adult and youth relationships


What Are the Benefits?

Research suggests that by youth having a natural mentor during adolescence is associated with a variety of positive outcomes.

• Mentored young people are 46% less likely to get involved with drugs.

• 59% of mentored youth improve their grades!

• 86% of mentored youth go on to higher education.

• 80% of youth involved in the juvenile justice system

who received a mentor did not return to that system!


Founder Greatness Now Mischa is the founder of Greatness Now, a human development organization in Baltimore, MD. She also recently founded the GIRLS as CEOs Foundation; a non-profit dedicated to eradicating inequities for woman and girls via philanthropic giving and educationally enriching experiences. She also recently opened the Mischa Toland Entrepreneurial Academy for Girls in partnership with Morgan State University’s Earl Graves School of Business. She was recently honored with the 2014 Champions of Mentoring Award by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Chesapeake Region and received the 2014 Community Leaders Award.

Mischa Toland


Natural and Informal Mentoring Practitioner Examples

She Ain’t Angry for Nothin’ Intervention & Behavior Modification Program

2008 - 2013

He Can Choose to Change Intervention & Behavior Modification Program

2009 - 2013

Mischa Toland Entrepreneurial Academy for Girls

October 2014 - Present


Increasing the Impact

Meaningful Relationships Purposeful Relationships

• Traditional mentoring path

• Manufactured

• Caring, trusting, feel good

relationships

• More focused on now

• Adult led

• More emotional connection

• Evolving mentoring path

• Organic

• Life directed relationships

• More focused on lifetime

• Youth led

• Less emotional connection


5 Factors in Understanding Natural and Informal Mentoring

• Make certain relationships/mentoring are not just valueless catchphrases.

• Ask young people what they need rather than be guided solely by research and data.

• Negotiate the terms of the mentoring experience with the young person versus pre-determine the terms.

• While natural and informal mentoring can be just as impactful in terms of supporting and strengthening our young people, we must exercise caution, be watchful and vigilant about the dangers it can present as well.

• Acknowledge how social media, technology and society at large are influencing how young people see relating and relationships.


Q&A for all Panelists

Type your questions in the question box:


Additional Resources

• Graphic/framework from Connected Mentor: http://connectedmentor.com/framework/

• Developmental Relationships framework by Search Institute:

http://www.search-institute.org/what-we-study/developmental-relationships

• The Mentoring Effect report:

http://www.mentoring.org/mentoringeffect














Remember…

After the webinar:

Please help us out by answering survey questions at the end of the webinar.

Everyone will get an email with information on how to

download the slides, recording, and resources on the CMWS webpage on the MENTOR website:

http://www.mentoring.org/program_resources/training_opportunities/collaborative_mentoring_webinar_series/




Access CMWS Information All Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series information for upcoming and past webinars

is on the CMWS webpage on the MENTOR website:


Leveraging Mentoring to Support Black Male Achievement

Thursday, January 15, 2014 1 - 2:15 pm Eastern

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