Working on the $100,000 Student Mentor Problem - Part I
Image from Freepiks
In the spring of 2024, I began to tackle again the $100,000 problem. What is that? The effective mentoring of freshmen by upperclassmen. There is so much potential in our building. I see them walking the hallways. These older students, boys and girls, exude influence, confidence, even experience that is unrecognized and unrealized. Likewise, I see freshmen who are pliable, seeking, and eager to start anew in high school. They lack the ideas, the influences, or the imitative to fully realize that desire.
It’s really not a $100,000 problem. The actual cost is in the billions.
National estimates suggest that each high school dropout costs the United States economy at least $250,000 over the course of his or her lifetime because of greater reliance on welfare and Medicaid, more criminal activity, poorer health, and lower tax contributions (National Institute of Health).
The plan we launched this fall is very simple. Here are the numbers for context:
440 freshmen
60% Caucasian, 40% Hispanic, Black, Native American, and Asian
21 freshman study halls
42 Pathfinders (sophomores, juniors, and seniors)
The commitment is one hour a week
We have donations to buy 15 meals over the course of the school for the Pathfinders.
A Typical Day As a Pathfinder
Pathfinders pick up a clipboard from me at the beginning of study hall. They go to their assigned study hall and check in with each freshman. As we start this year, we are focused on School Readiness. The questions they have asked during the month of September are these:
How many hours did you sleep last night?
Last week, how many times did your Chromebook die at school?
How many times did you have to borrow something from another freshman or a teacher?
Did you SLANT? (Sit up, Listen, Ask/Answer questions, Nod your head, Track the teacher)
They spend the 35 minutes of study hall talking to freshmen, asking them the above questions, checking grades and attendance, and getting to know their group of freshmen.
Following study hall, we all have lunch together in a large classroom. I have a short agenda. I allow students to sit in groups of at least three (I move a few.). I move around the room. I want to create a culture of service. I try to model that as I listen to their questions.
The agenda is very basic:
Community building question.
What just happened in your study hall?
Training for next week or vision casting for what we are doing.
We are in week three. It’s going well. The teachers of The Freshman Academy have hopes and dreams about what this influence in our study halls could become.
It doesn’t get much better than that!
Pathfinder Feedback
Here is what our Pathfinders had to say after week three.
A full 77% Agree or Strongly Agree that they are enjoying this service to freshmen! This is a good opening investment in our culture.