Target Population/Total Students:
The target population is the incoming 9th grade class of every year. The goal of the program is to allow for a successful transition into high school for all 9th graders. Our 9th grade cohort has 90 students and approximately 16 peer leaders with 3 faculty advisors.
Challenges:
- Finding a diverse group of the peer mentors
- Getting students to understand content and the curriculum and lesson
- Timing – Getting students to arrive on time for school because program is in first period
- Working with peer mentors and discovering fine line between teenagers and peer mentors
- Creating fun, engaging and interesting activities for freshman that is a balance of fun and educational.
How did school overcome challenges?
When we do the recruitment and selection of peer mentors we look for young leaders who represent the diversity of our population. In our upcoming second year of the program, we are putting methods in place like pre-screening and a more rigorous process of application to weed out potential mentors. We also started doing the some of the mentoring activities with 10th grade cohort in order to increase awareness and potential for mentors in our school community. To try to create more fun and engaging activities for all students we allow the mentors to have more involvement in the way the curriculum is implemented with the students.
How did you evaluate that this practice was effective?
PGC has only been in our school since September 2013 but some ways we evaluate is by 1.) surveys with the 9th graders 2.) focus with group with 9th graders 3.) random quotes from different 10th graders 4.) quotes from 9th grade parents by how there students were impacted by the program. Parents took a survey at beginning and will take one at the end of the year.
How will you continue to sustain this practice?
The PGC program fee was a one-time investment in the first year so we have the program forever and plan to make it better and better as develops.-
About the Practice
Peer Group Connection is a high-school peer leadership program designed to build caring, safe and learning communities where diversity is respected. PGC helps motivate students to get involved in school activities and improve academic performance. This helps students develop leadership skills that can help our students make positive changes in our school environment.
PGC looks like: The peer leaders in a leadership course 5 days a week and in this course the leaders are taught different ways to mentor and support the 9th grade class. Once a week, the peer leaders meet with their groups of 9th graders (approximately 15 students) and facilitate activities that pertain to goal setting, decision making, preparedness for college, communication skills, connectedness and attachment to school community and resiliency skills.
This practice has been in place at our school since September 2013 and will continue next year.
Teachers and staff involved in the program are Abraham Ovalles (teacher), Stephanie Zaccardo (a. principal) and Tiffany Anderson (community service coordinator) aovalles@mhbx.org, szaccardo@mhbx.org, tanderson@mhbx.org
