Virtual mentoring has emerged in recent years as a promising way to expand the mentoring of underserved youth. In this report, the authors describe how one organization expanded its mentoring program to include a virtual option, the development and implementation of the mentoring program, and lessons learned from this experience with the goal of improvement. This report may also assist other mentoring programs that seek to adopt a similar model.
Authors
Pane, John F., Doss, Christopher Joseph, Blagg, Tara Laila, Barnes-Proby, Dionne, Jeffries, Jennifer, Bush-Mecenas, Susan
Related Organizations
- Division
- RAND Social and Economic Well-Being Justice Policy
- Pages
- 53
- Published in
- United States
- RAND Identifier
- RR-A3442-1
- RAND Type
- report
- Rights
- RAND Corporation
- Series
- Research Reports
- Source
- https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3442-1.html
Table of Contents
- About This Report 3
- Justice Policy Program 3
- Acknowledgments 3
- Contents 4
- Figures and Tables 5
- Figures 5
- Tables 5
- Chapter 1 6
- Introduction 6
- Mentoring Service at the U.S. Dream Academy 7
- Focus of This Evaluation 9
- Chapter 2 11
- Findings 11
- How Did Dream Design and Support Its Mentoring Model to Include Virtual Mentoring 11
- A Developmental Relationships Framework Guides All Learning Center Activities Especially Mentoring 11
- Dream Developed a Mentoring Curriculum a Virtual Mentoring Platform and Infrastructure to Address Common Challenges 12
- Implementing Virtual Mentoring Also Helped to Systematize Mentor Screening and Training at National Level 13
- What Are the Characteristics of the Students Who Participated in the Mentoring Program at Each of the Learning Centers During the Implementation of Virtual Services 14
- Dream Learning Centers Provided Regular Mentorship to Historically Underserved Students 14
- Dream Mentee Social and Emotional Needs and Characteristics 15
- How Was Mentoring Curriculum Implemented Across Dream Mentoring Learning Centers 17
- Problems with Staffing of Learning Centers to Implement the Mentoring Program 17
- Learning Centers Recruited Mentors from Various Sources to Match with Students 18
- Various Modes of Engagement Provided Flexibility to Learning Centers 19
- Mentoring Covered Common Topics Related to DRF While Curriculum Use Varied 21
- Learning Centers Offered Various Support Services Alongside Mentoring 25
- What Were the Perceived Benefits of Mentoring for Young People Their Caregivers Mentors and Dream Staff 29
- Students Benefited from Social and Emotional Mental Health and Academic Support 30
- Caregivers and Families Benefited from Safety Net and Advocacy 31
- Mentors Benefited from Personal and Professional Development 32
- Mentors and Mentees Were Very Satisfied with Mentoring Experience 33
- There Were Benefits and Trade-Offs to Virtual Mentoring 35
- Chapter 3 38
- Discussion and Recommendations 38
- Adapt Mentoring Model for Greater Flexibility with Implementing the Curriculum 38
- Consider Alternative Staffing Models 39
- Consider Prioritizing Recruitment of Staff and Mentors with Characteristics and Experience That Are Especially Relevant to Students 39
- Engage All Volunteers and Staff in Training on the Curriculum 39
- Identify Measures of Student Readiness and Receptiveness for Virtual Mentoring 40
- Limitations 40
- Appendix 41
- Detailed Methodology 41
- Survey Data Collection 42
- RAND Student Characteristics Surveys 42
- Dream Student and Mentor Satisfaction Surveys 44
- Dream Session Completion Forms 44
- Dream Administrative Data 45
- Analysis of Data 45
- Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis 45
- National Dream Leadership Interviews 45
- Learning Center Case Visits Staff Interviews and Student Caregiver and Mentor Focus Groups 46
- Mentoring Session Observation 48
- Reflexivity 49
- Abbreviations 50
- References 51
