Note the different forms of mentoring suggested by the Tulsa
Partners in Education program. All are applicable in any town.
City of Tulsa joins Partners in Education program
Posted on: February 28th, 2014
The Honorable Dewey
F. Bartlett, Jr., Tulsa Mayor, First Lady Victoria Bartlett and school leaders
on Friday inaugurated the city of Tulsa’s new partnership with Emerson
Elementary School, wherein city employees are being asked to spend their lunch
hour with Emerson students weekly as part of the Partners in Education program.
The announcement was
made at the Mentoring to the Max Breakfast with Dewey Bartlett, where the Tulsa
region’s top mentoring leaders and organizations — including Junior
Achievement, 100 Black Men of Tulsa and Skills USA — came together to describe
how even an hour of one-on-one time with a child can have a dramatic impact on
academic performance, behavioral tendencies and overall well-being.
A key component of
the Partners In Education program, mentoring is a free and easy way to boost
volunteerism and general well-being among your company’s employees, improve
community standing and help make a difference in the lives of students.
Mentoring can take a number of forms, including:
- A regular but brief one-on-one session with a student in which a mentor visits informally with the child. Discussion topics might include schoolwork or the child’s home life, but regardless of the topic, the mentor acts as a responsible friend. Just having a stabilizing adult presence can boost a child’s grades and instill self-confidence.
- Lunch buddies. An even more
informal one-on-one mentor relationship, lunch buddies need only spend one
lunch hour a week with a student in a friendly lunchtime environment.
- A one-time “career presentation”
to a classroom. Students can benefit from hearing the perspective of a
member of the workforce regardless of profession. Exposure to different
professions and potential careers can give a child direction in life.
- Opening up a workplace to guided tours for students. Much like career presentations to classrooms, workplace tours can be a powerful influence on a student’s career choices.
Email
Chamber Education Program Manager Kuma Browne at kumabrowne@tulsachamber.com
for mentor opportunities.
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