School Mentoring Programs: Academic Mentorship for Struggling Students

Guide to School Mentoring Programs for Broward County Educators, Students, Families & Volunteers

If you are an adult or high school student who is interested in becoming a volunteer mentor to elementary, middle school and high school students, this page is for you. It provides a short list of mentoring programs offered through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County.

Bigs Inspiring Scholastic Success (BISS)

BISS pairs Bigs (adult or high school mentors) with Littles (k-12 students) who are academically at risk, so volunteers can help students improve their grades and classroom behavior. Bigs encourage their Littles to graduate and pursue higher education or a career path.

What do mentors do in the BISS student mentoring program? As part of our BISS initiative, BBBS asks Bigs to:

• Commit to a 2-year match with their Littles
• Meet once a week for one hour
• Help their Little improve their grades in core subjects
• Encourage their Little to improve school attendance
• Help instill a sense of self-confidence in their Littles

Where do matches meet? BBBS of Broward County offers in-school mentoring programs and community-based mentoring programs for children of all ages and backgrounds.

• School-based matches meet at the schools, typically during the lunch hour or immediately after school; the screening process is less rigorous than community-based matches.
• Community-based matches meet outside the school — libraries, the Big’s or Little’s homes, a community center or any approved location. The screening process to become a community-based volunteer includes a home visit.

Become a Mentor to Elementary and Middle School Students

What are school-based BBBS programs? The in-school mentorship programs for elementary and middle school are excellent opportunities for busy working professionals who are looking for volunteer opportunities to help younger kids who are struggling. Kids in kindergarten through 7th or 8th grade take part in the school-based mentoring program, where adult mentors or high school students meet with them one-on-one, once a week to help with homework or work on other educational type activities.

These elementary school and middle school mentoring programs are a great way for Bigs to ease into the BBBS program; many of our site-based Bigs transition into community-based programs.

Become a Mentor to High School Students

Workplace mentoring for teens: BBBS offers a career-focused workplace mentoring program where high school Littles go to the Bigs’ places of work to shadow them for a couple of hours a month. This School-to-Work mentorship program is a great opportunity for Broward-area businesses to open their doors to high school students and make an impact on their futures!

Community-based mentoring: The community-based BISS for high schoolers builds on BBBS’s traditional community-based mentoring programs. Adult volunteers are matched with teens who are at risk academically. They follow the traditional mentoring program with Big Brother Big Sisters with an added emphasis on education, graduation and post-high school success.

Preparing teens for life after high school: Big Futures is a college and career readiness initiative designed to equip young people for post-secondary success through career mentoring, education, and access to key opportunities. Big Futures embodies a network of programs that help youth graduate with a plan for their future and a mentor whose impact will last a lifetime.

Answers to FAQs About Mentorship in Schools

Do you offer volunteer opportunities for high school students?

High school students who demonstrate excellent leadership potential and who love working with younger kids will be interested in BBBS’s peer-to-peer school mentoring programs. BBBS matches high school students with area elementary and middle schoolers. In this type of program, the high school student is the Big, and the elementary or middle school student is the Little. Our peer-to-peer mentoring programs are excellent ways for kids to help other kids.

Does BBBS offer monthly mentoring curriculum to mentors?

As part of BBBS’s school mentoring programs, we offer resources to help Bigs come up with ideas for activities that they can do with their Littles. We do this in conjunction with Broward County Schools’ Kids of Character initiative.

Each month, BBBS offers a theme-based curriculum that Bigs and Littles can use to focus on specific areas. For example, February’s Kids of Character theme is honesty and BBBS’s theme is mindset. The BBBS curriculum helps Bigs and Littles talk about what a healthy mindset is, what it looks like, and how to adopt a healthy mindset. Each week in February includes lessons with a different theme on “healthy mindset.”

What is the time commitment for the student mentor program?

The most important aspect of a Big-Little mentoring relationship is consistency. Program commitments range from one to two years. Frequency depends on the type of program, ranging from weekly, biweekly to monthly, typicaly four to eight hours per month. In-school mentoring programs are typically an hour a week while school is in session.

For More Information on School Mentoring Programs

For high school students who want to volunteer: If you are a high school student who wants to become a volunteer, complete BBBS high school volunteer application online. You’ll need to provide references from teachers and answer short essay questions explaining why you want to volunteer as a mentor for BBBS.

For volunteers interested in becoming Bigs: If you are an adult who’s interested in a site-based or community-based program, please start by completing the BBBS volunteer application.

For parents: If you are a student or parent of a student who wants to be matched with a Big, complete the BBBS Broward youth application online. Participation requires the permission of a parent or legal guardian, and we keep any information you share through the applihttps://bbbs.tfaforms.net/4843054cation confidential.

For donors: Lastly, if you are looking for a charitable nonprofit to support financially, please consider Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County. Donate to BBBS once or monthly, or become a BBBS partner.

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