Mentoring Teens Who are At Risk of Dropping Out

Teens at risk of dropping out of school can find help through mentors. Every mentor-mentee relationship varies but there are simple guidelines for mentors that give the best chance the relationship will succeed.

A mentor's demeanor is critical. Teens are savvy and respond best when mentors are open and straight-forward. The following are ways to keep the relationship on track:

Be Authentic - Exaggerated enthusiasm and fanciful stories are irrelevant to teens, especially those who deal with difficult issues every day. Be real. Be sincere and recognize the teen's world view.

Be Reliable - Many teens are cynical through experience. They have learned that people do not follow through on their promises. Always show up or call when you say you will. Expect the same from your mentee.

Focus on Your Mentee - Keep your attention clearly on the mentee's needs and issues. Be their advocate but also set clear expectations for behavior and meeting obligations.

Be Open - Mentor-mentee relationships are dynamic. Be open to change. Be open to where the conversations lead or how the relationship might evolve.

Show Respect - Respect your mentee, their family and their social situation. This is not the time to pass judgment or to have preconceived notions about a teen's environment. Focus on behaviors and responses to situations, not the situations themselves.

Ask Questions and Listen! - It is easy to ask questions but it can be difficult to actually listen and hear what else is being said. Make mental notes, clarify points and ask additional questions without probing too quickly. A teen may not want to delve too far into a situation on the mentor's timetable. On the other hand, a teen might try to shock a mentor early on to test how they will react. It is a delicate balancing act but listening is a critical component to establishing trust.

Set Clear Expectations - Set expectations (for both the mentee and mentor) that are reasonable and actionable. Then, follow through. When expectations are not met, openly address the failure and work together to prevent it from happening again. Never dwell on a failure or repeatedly bring it up. Deal with it once and be done with it.
Recognize Success - Take every opportunity to reward success. Verbal affirmations are powerful especially when coming from someone the teen respects. Share those successes with parents and guardians when appropriate.

Know the Community Resources - Have a list of resources ready to use when the need arises. Know the school counselor and truant officers (if involved). Know the social services that are in the immediate vicinity and suggest ways to get there via public transportation if needed. Keep phone numbers and websites close at hand and keep them updated.

Mentoring Tactics

There are ways to help at-risk teens become more self-aware and realize that their behaviors affect their situation. Learning how to alter how they act and react can have significant impact on moving onto the right track.

Build Self-awareness - Helping teens think about what they are doing helps them build self-awareness. Most at-risk teens are not very aware of themselves; they simply act on feelings and impulses without much thought of the consequences.

Discuss Good Behavior - One of the best forms of mentoring is getting kids to relay examples of how they managed to "do something good." Encourage them to describe what happened, understand the cause and effect of a positive experience, and learn how to repeat it. Mentors can help kids understand the link between their feelings and their behaviors and that they can learn to control behavior in spite of their feelings. Bad behavior is not an inevitable outcome of a bad feeling; especially if teens are coached to not let their feelings run - or ruin - their lives.

Expect Better Outcomes - An important goal of mentoring is to get teens to think about ways they can affect better outcomes from different courses of action. For example, what will result from remaining on a current course of behavior versus taking a different approach? Help teens identify new and positive strategies for getting what they want or need.

Six Pillars of Effective Dropout Prevention

Jobs for the Future, a research and policy development organization focused on education and workforce strategies, has issued a comprehensive report called the Six Pillars of Effective Dropout Prevention and Recovery.

These are:

1. Reinforce the right to a public education
2. Count and account for dropouts
3. Use graduation and on-track rates to trigger transformative reform.
4. Invent New Models - States should create and sustain a designated vehicle for developing and implementing "Back on Track" models . . . to encourage continuing innovation and the expansion of successful models.
5. Accelerate preparation for postsecondary success.
6. Provide stable funding for systemic reform.

All of these are good recommendations and are right in DTPN's sweet spot.

Nebraska Governor Emphasizes Truancy Prevention in his State of State Address

Gov. Dave Heineman's comments were:

"Additionally, I am very supportive of Senator Ashford's efforts to reduce truancy. Last year, 22,000 Nebraska students missed more than 20 days of school, and students can't learn if they are not in school. For example, Commissioner of Education Roger Breed has informed me that students who miss more than 20 days of school score approximately 30 points less on the reading assessment. Many schools would see a significant increase in reading scores if truancy were reduced."

The full text is here.

Right Back on Track in Dropout Prevention

There is no single approach to tackling truancy and school dropout. We know that it takes a concerted response from family, school, legal, and other community resources to help stem the tide of truancy. However, what is clear is that making connections with youth is vital to helping youth stay in school. The Right Back on Track Mentoring Program (RBT) makes connections with youth and helps them gain skills to be successful.

RBT couples electronic monitoring with mentoring and coaching to help youth stay in school and succeed in meeting their goals. RBT uses cellular location technology to track the student. Students carry a loose cellular device that offers location verification data as well as voice capabilities. The cellular unit can call school, home, 911, and in some cases a homework hotline. Location verification lets the youth know that he or she is being monitored for compliance in school attendance, which can be reported to parents, school counselors, judges, and other people working for the welfare of that youth. Monitoring helps adolescents know that they aren’t going to slip through the cracks and that adults really do care about where they are. At first, these adolescents may not like the monitoring or believe that adults really care, but when the adults in their life are actually working together, this consistency of response helps establish trust and safety.

The voice communication capabilities of the cellular device are what help set RBT apart from other truancy intervention programs. RBT employs mentor/coaches to help the youth be successful in the program. While monitoring a youth’s whereabouts is helpful, it is the human contact and interest in the youth’s development that makes a lasting difference for these youth. Mentor/coaches are able to maintain ongoing phone contact with these adolescents and help them develop goals and the skills to reach these goals. By establishing a positive relationship with the youth, the mentor/coach can help youth find the solutions they need to be successful in school and in life.

The program is a critical tool as we seek ways to combat the dropout crisis.

There is no single approach to tackling truancy and school dropout. We know that it takes a concerted response from family, school, legal, and other community resources to help stem the tide of truancy. However, what is clear is that making connections with youth is vital to helping youth stay in school. The Right Back on Track Mentoring Program (RBT) makes connections with youth and helps them gain skills to be successful.

RBT couples electronic monitoring with mentoring and coaching to help youth stay in school and succeed in meeting their goals. RBT uses cellular location technology to track the student. Students carry a loose cellular device that offers location verification data as well as voice capabilities. The cellular unit can call school, home, 911, and in some cases a homework hotline. Location verification lets the youth know that he or she is being monitored for compliance in school attendance, which can be reported to parents, school counselors, judges, and other people working for the welfare of that youth. Monitoring helps adolescents know that they aren’t going to slip through the cracks and that adults really do care about where they are. At first, these adolescents may not like the monitoring or believe that adults really care, but when the adults in their life are actually working together, this consistency of response helps establish trust and safety.

The voice communication capabilities of the cellular device are what help set RBT apart from other truancy intervention programs. RBT employs mentor/coaches to help the youth be successful in the program. While monitoring a youth’s whereabouts is helpful, it is the human contact and interest in the youth’s development that makes a lasting difference for these youth. Mentor/coaches are able to maintain ongoing phone contact with these adolescents and help them develop goals and the skills to reach these goals. By establishing a positive relationship with the youth, the mentor/coach can help youth find the solutions they need to be successful in school and in life.

The program is a critical tool as we seek ways to combat the dropout crisis.

Happiness Advantage and Truancy

"Happiness is the joy you feel striving after your potential."

Shawn Achor

This is not directly related to dropout prevention, but I like the sentiment. It is an encouraging thought especially when working hard to defeat the negativity inherent in the dropout and truancy crisis.

I met Shawn this week and heard him speak. I found him informative, interesting and very thought provoking.

Marine training and the Dropout Crisis

When I was training as a US Marine officer in Quantico, Virginia in the mid-1980s, our instructors imparted a lesson that, while culturally characteristic of that fighting organization, has stuck with me to this day. When faced with almost any sort of a tactical or operational challenge, the answer is to attack. And not just point at the enemy and shoot, but aggressively attack with a vengeance and an uncompromising spirit. We need to bring that same ethos to bear on the dropout epidemic. Attack, attack and attack again. This bias for action must define our respond or we will lose another generation while we study, dither and debate.

West Virginia Takes New Approach to Truancy Deterence

A lot of municipalities and states threaten to take driver's licenses away from truant. I legislator in West Virginia has now proposed taking the license away from the parents of those truants! It certainly shows that she is serious about this serious epidemic.

Although it sounds draconian, innovation in the face of social challenge should always be encouraged.

Mentoring Teens Who are At Risk of Dropping Out

My recent article on the subject.

Arizona Dropout Prevention Conference

Arizona will host a dropout prevention conference May 2-3 in Phoenix.

Muskogee is GREAT

I read that Muskogee, Oklahoma is instituting an innovative program to combat the proliferation of gangs called GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Training). It certainly seems like the type of program that can have a very positive impact on the community.

I can't help but wonder how much more effective a program like that might be if it added phone based mentor/coaches like we have in the Right Back on Track program here at the Dropout & Truancy Prevention Network. The structure of geo-location technology and the empathy of a nonjudgmental and supportive mentor/coach would be a powerful addition.