The best approach in helping reduce college dropout rates with students in poverty would be a community approach. The overall population of college students in poverty gets very little attention. Thus far, college interventions serve primarily freshman in poverty. There is a plethora amount of research on college access programs for students but there is a limited amount of literature on how to decrease college dropout rates outside of freshman year. Dropping out as an upperclassman is just as critical as dropping out as a freshman. This chapter will focus on a proposed community intervention formed by an exploratory research design that will secure the gap in the literature by focusing on decreasing college dropout rates beyond college freshman. …show more content…
This mentoring program will spend a considerable amount of time on the upperclassmen to make sure they stay active within the program. Upperclassmen will make continuous follow up’s and encourage participation to upcoming cohorts. The mentors will be responsible for assisting incoming freshman in the program they are assigned to. Though, it is not limited to only support the sole student they have been assigned. Each mentor will also be responsible for attending all programs, study sessions, and events tied to the program they’ve been in. The mentoring will begin on move-in day. On this day, mentors will assist their assigned mentee with checking into their residence halls. This will give the mentee the chance to meet a soon to be familiar face and exchange contact information while giving the mentor a chance to introduce themselves and meet their mentee’s family members. If anybody, whether the mentee or the family member, has any questions they will already have someone they can ask who has been through the same program. The mentoring program will continue throughout the academic school year helping mentees stay involved, keep good grades, and maintain positive mindsets if times are becoming …show more content…
TRIO programs focus on students from disadvantaged backgrounds, students with low-income, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities (Office of Post-Secondary Education, 2017). In addition, requirements for a mentor must be an upperclassman with good academic as well as social standing within the university. A mentor/mentee matching questionnaire will help with the matching process upon mentor/mentee selection (Appendix B). After reviewing their program applications, matching questionnaires, and overall program standing, a small group interview (Appendix C) and training will be conducted to make sure all mentors are adequately prepared to take on the
Trio student support service programs are funded by the U.S. Department of Education and their goal for the programs are to encourage and assist underrepresented students who are in preparation and completion of a college education. Trio services offer career & academic planning, tutorial support, info with financial aid & scholarships, assistance with college applications & transfer, visitation to 4yr institutions, workshops addressing various aspects of college life, leadership development activities, cultural & social activities, referral to a college & community support services, and computer & study lounge access at the trio offices. To enroll in the trio service programs, must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, a registered ECC student, and meet one or more of these requirements: (1) 1st gen college student, (2) financial need, and (3) documented learning or physical disability
One of the possible research topics I plan to undertake involves analyzing the impact that mentoring can have on the graduation success rate of African American males, particularly when the mentor is a Black male and the relationship takes place in the south. In my opinion, these relationships can have a profound impact on a student’s ability to persist towards graduating from college. Though my research, I want to hear the stories of Black males who have benefited from successful mentoring relationships with other Black men. I believe that establishing a strong mentoring relationship with Black males at a young age can greatly improve their chance of academic success. Furthermore, I believe that mentoring is a strong early intervention mechanism to prevent Black males from dropping out of high school and deterring them from pursuing degrees in higher education. At the same time, I would like my research interest to focus on African American males in the south, but I would like my scope to focus on mentoring relationships between black men; both structured and unstructured.
Throughout the years the dropout rate of African Americans has increased and decreased. Many people look at black students as if they sit there and do not learn anything at all but we do try. Some may think that the only reason the black students drop out is because their grades, but that’s not true. Some dropout because of financial pressure, health problems, mental, emotional, and social issues, and may not have family support.
It is important to find the means to prevent these students that are victimized by skyrocketing tuition from dropping out, and encourage all incoming high school seniors to continue their education. The reality is that the rise in college tuition is no longer affordable for the average American household. Parents cannot afford to pay for their children’s tuition on their incomes and students are very often forced to enroll part-time in order to have the time to get a job to pay for college. This very often causes a decrease in these students GPA and consequently increases the number of dropouts in the long run. Other times, it will take these students double the time to complete their degrees.
Mentoring can be that hand that reaches down and pulls you out of the pit. Mentoring can change lives forever and create permanent relationships. Mentoring can help a child get on the right track if they do not have someone else to help them. Whether they have grown up without active parents, have gotten into trouble from time to time, or even if they are a straight A student, the youth needs mentoring. It will build a country that has a solid foundation in which the current youth of America will one day lead. Mentoring proves that “regardless of background, [all children] are equipped to achieve their dreams” (Bruce and
Mentoring program becomes instrumental and breakdown barriers as employees are interacting and carrying out the organization’s vision. This allows employees to interact with employees of different cultures and backgrounds with the goal that one will learn more about the individual.
Spencer, R., Collins, M. E., Ward, R., & Smashnaya, S. (2010). Mentoring for young people
Today we live in a society where it is not uncommon for children or pre-teens to end up going down the wrong path leading to a long life of delinquency. In some instances, children start heading down the wrong path in life as early as the age of 12 years old. Most of the troubled teenagers are between the ages of 13 to 18 years old. These teenagers can even become violent as they experience the “growing up into young adults” phase. Many teenagers grow up in homes where there are no responsible adults that can provide the type of guidance that can help them become responsible individuals.
Flaxman, E. Evaluating Mentoring Programs. New York: Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1992.
Mentoring is defined as "the contribution of a trusted, nonparental adult in the life of a child or youth..." (Williams, 3). Mentoring programs help youth in foster care to create a relationship with someone that will last longer than relationships created by the system, such as a foster parent or a social worker. A child may have multiple different social workers during their time in the foster care system, as well as many different foster parents. Mentoring programs offer foster youth the opportunity to create a relationship with someone that is not a relationship forced upon them by the foster system. Children in foster care who are involved in mentoring programs are "more likely to attend college and less likely to engage in delinquent behavior." (Williams, 3). These outcomes are what have sparked mentoring programs to begin in a few states, or regions, across the country. One specific program is in Washington D.C. and is called the Family and Youth Initiative (DCFYI). This program "helps youth ages 12 to 21 years in foster care find stable adult relationships, including mentors and adoptive families, through regular teen-adult social events, host family visits, advocacy, and outreach." When a relationship is formed through one of the social events, the youth, or the adult, can reach out to the program director about the potential of creating a relationship (Ahmann, 4). The social events put on through the DCFYI give foster youth the opportunity to create a relationship outside of the foster care system. The DCFYI has had many success stories, one of which is about Robert, and his mentor, whom he met through DCFYI, Brian. Robert lived in a group home when he began attending DCFYI events, which is where he met his mentor,
This area of focus is flawed in that it only provides a mentor the requirement of volunteering 10-15 hours a year. Realistically, as a mentor, a person needs to be more involved with a person to make a real difference. The Tennessee Achieves website even claims that a mentor only has to give up on average one hour a month to an individual. This is not enough time to make proper acquaintances with a person, let alone to provide proper guidance and mentorship to a young aspiring adult who is trying to become successful under this
Having an effective working relationship with a student is an important goal and will underpin all other aspects of mentoring (Walsh, 2014). It is advisable to build this relationship quickly and effectively within the first week of the student’s placement, this is known to be the mentor’s responsibility and allows the mentor to demonstrate to be organised, productive and welcoming (Walsh,
Expectations of today’s educational qualifications for high school students are different than it was in the past. It is not uncommon to hear about a student who did not graduate from school. As shown in table 1, 97 students from Stanly County dropped out of school in the 2011- 2012 school year (“Grade 7-13 Dropout Counts and Rates (pdf.62kb)”). Last school year 3.01 percent of North Carolina’s high school students dropped out of school according to the 2011-12 Consolidated Data Report, as a result the total number of students who dropped out of high school in the 2012 year is 13,488. It is also noted that the top five reasons NC students drop out of school are: 1. Attendance, 2. Enrollment in a Community College, 3. Unknown, 4. Moved, School status unknown, 5. Lack of Engagement. (“Dropout prevention and Intervention”) This number is very high considering that there are only five major high schools in the Stanly county district. This is why I think it is important that something should be done to reduce the high school dropout rate in Stanly County.
Did you know, according to The National Mentoring Partnership, that vulnerable young people that have a mentor are: 55% more likely to enroll in college 78% more likely to volunteer regularly 130% more likely to hold leadership positions However, despite the powerful positive impact that quality mentoring relationships can have, one in three young people grow up without this critical asset. Understanding that intentional mentorship can result in connecting youth with social and economic opportunities, Columbus City Schools (CCS) Superintendent/CEO, Dr. Dan Good, established the Office of Student Mentoring Initiatives (OSMI) in November 2015; with the ultimate goal of ensuring that each CCS student has an opportunity to be matched with an effective mentor.
Bloom, Dan. "Helping High School Dropouts Improve Their Prospects." The Brookings Institution. N.p., Spring 2010. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.