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Guided Mentoring
Empowering High Schoolers to Become Civic Leaders
Guided Mentoring is a two-tiered approach to cross-age mentoring that fosters mentoring relationships between high school and elementary-aged youth throughout Vermont and the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire. The program kicks off with a dedicated mentor-in-training foundation to prepare high schoolers to be effective, impactful mentors and provides a space for them to celebrate their group and self-identities, to develop their sense of place, and to explore their roles within their home places—which we think is a testament to all that is possible when relationships are done well.
Philosophy: Exploring Who We Are Together
Throughout our lives we are both mentors who provide guidance to others and mentees who learn from and lean on others. It is important for youth to learn when and why to shift between these two roles, and to explore how they can be and bring their authentic selves into their endeavors. Spending meaningful time with peers optimizes this experience.
Be a Mentor & Be Mentored
Be a fun, supportive, and uniquely wise presence in a young person’s life, with similar guidance and support for you!
Explore Your Community
Investigate what makes your community unique and special, and consider your places in your community.
Celebrate Yourself
Explore, affirm, and celebrate all that makes you who you are!
Committment
We ask high school mentors to commit to this program for two years because we know it takes time to build authentic, meaningful mentoring relationships.
We offer full and partial program models which ask students to commit to approximately one-and-a-half to three hours of programming weekly. Mentors will experience training, exploration of curriculum topics, and “village” (group) as well as one-on-one mentoring time.
​To honor this commitment, high school mentors will have opportunities to develop and demonstrate proficiency in Transferable Skills for graduation and/or earn community service hours.
In our partnerships with high schools we strive to tailor our programming to meet the needs of every site. We ask our school partners to collaborate with us to make this an exciting leadership and learning opportunity for students, allowing them to celebrate, be empowered, and give back.
Guided Mentoring Curriculum
We envision the program as an exciting leadership and learning opportunity for students, allowing them to celebrate, be empowered, and give back. They’ll have fun, be silly, and step outside of their comfort zones. Along the way, each high school mentor will be mentored by DREAM, so they’ll have someone to lean on and learn from too.
Mentorship
Mentoring will function as an overarching framework or center-point. Creating positive mentoring relationships among the two tiers of mentors and younger mentees is the main focus of the program. Mentors will understand the role of mentoring and ways that it can positively affect individuals and communities, learning and applying best mentoring practices to their work.
Sense of Place
This theme seeks to help youth develop positive relationships with their home places that they themselves define. Mentors and mentees alike will discover — on their own terms — the assets and opportunities that exist within their own communities. They will celebrate their communities’ strengths and their roles within it.
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Identity
Exploring identity is a critical part of any youth program. The identity theme is the primary place for mentors and mentees to explore and develop a positive self-identity, providing them with a supportive group environment and encouragement to define who they are and the community they want to be.
Meaning and Purpose
Through all of their work, mentors will discover the ways in which their skills, abilities, and interests intersect with their communities. They will practice a variety of leadership roles, gaining self-efficacy and agency. They will envision their present and future roles within their communities, and how they can find satisfaction and meaning in whatever they choose to do.
Informational Resources
Explore the items below to learn more about our Guided Mentoring program.
Join Our Program Today!
Interested in bringing Guided Mentoring to your school? Email Bruce G. Perlow,
Guided Mentoring Program Director, at bperlow@dreamprogram.org.
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