Mentoring Matters

Mark Benigni and Sheryll Petrosky get to the heart of what it takes to improve school climate in Mentoring Matters. This book is a great "How To" manual for implementing a program to personalize the high school experience for all students by building real connections among students and staff through a carefully crafted set of experiences. -- Jerald P. Fine, district-wide positive behavior intervention support coach Providing our students time for mentoring was easy, however, providing our students and teachers with lesson plans was difficult. We have researched mentoring lesson plans to no avail. High school administrators and advisory mentors have been looking for simple, easy-to-implement lessons that provide students with topics of interest. This book will be a valuable tool for all high schools that have mentoring programs. -- Donna Adduci Mik, High School Principal What is remarkable about this handbook is that it is so easy to use in creating an efficacious and meaningful mentoring program. The policy impacts of school-based mentoring are all positive when implementation is facilitated through tools like Mentoring Matters. This handbook will help guarantee eager buy-in from all educators. -- Thomas P. Gaffey, Connecticut state senator and senate chairman of the education committee Mentoring Matters is an excellent addition to the growing body of hands-on resources for student mentoring and student advisory programs. The ready-to-use lessons will help any school get their advisory program off the ground with meaningful and engaging activities in the first year, providing the school with time to flesh out their programming for ensuing years. The activities and scenarios are easy to execute and spot-on: respect, community-building, leadership skills, communicating, goal-setting, decision-making, adapting to change. Any school that wants to help its students negotiate the garmented and impersonal structure known as high school and help kids make meaning out of their school experience will find this book to be a valuable start-up tool. -- Scott Brown, Ph.D, secondary school consultant As a Board president, I believe that Mentoring Matters is a must-have resource for any school system committed to providing their students the skills of school-based mentoring. As a high school social worker, I believe that every student needs to establish a strong connection to a positive adult role model. This book provides the actual lessons required to prepare staff to be that mentor while establishing methods that personalize the learning environment to ensure the fostering of positive relationships between students and staff. -- Mark A. Hughes, MSW, board of education president and high school social worker Mentoring Matters is a practical guide for teachers that I would highly recommend. I have found myself using the easy-to-use lessons to initiate conversations with students about a variety of topics. By providing students with an opportunity to meet in small mentoring groups they have developed meaningful relationships that are impacting their grades and willingness to seek support when needed. This is a tool that every teacher in every school should be using! -- Maureen Moylan, nontraditional educational training program director

Mark D. Benigni, Ed.D, is the superintendent of the Meriden Public School System and a former four term mayor of Meriden, Connecticut. He was presented with one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans Awards by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce in 2008. Sheryll Petrosky is a thirty-two year veteran math teacher and mentor program director of the Cromwell Public School System in Cromwell, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a Bachelors of Mathematics and a Masters in Curriculum, Supervision and Administration.

Part 1 Acknowledgements Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 Introduction Part 4 Activities Chapter 5 I'd like to get to know you Chapter 6 Hello, my name is ... Chapter 7 Mastering our mission Chapter 8 Where am I going? How will I get there? Chapter 9 Lets get better acquainted Chapter 10 Getting to know me Chapter 11 Do you hear me? Chapter 12 Are you still listening? Chapter 13 Talk this way Chapter 14 Shhh... Chapter 15 Make the right choice Chapter 16 Lets see if what I thought I was doing matches up with what I did Chapter 17 Get SMART Chapter 18 What is important to me? Chapter 19 Pay it forward #1 Chapter 20 Pay it forward #2 Chapter 21 Celebrating our similarities Chapter 22 A leader please! Chapter 23 Here today, gone tomorrow Chapter 24 Rules are rules ... or are they? Chapter 25 Can we both be right? Chapter 26 I see it ... I hear it ... I feel it ... Chapter 27 Follow the leader ... good or bad? Chapter 28 What makes me like you? Chapter 29 Ive got the spirit. Chapter 30 Do you see it my way? Chapter 31 Beating the bully Chapter 32 Friend request Chapter 33 Think before you speak Chapter 34 We are family Chapter 35 R E S P E C T Chapter 36 Man in the mirror Chapter 37 Houston, we have a problem Chapter 38 Embrace change Chapter 39 On your mark, get set, GO! Chapter 40 I'm just teasing Chapter 41 I'm ready to explode Chapter 42 I am still stressing Chapter 43 You're in charge Chapter 44 Hey, thanks Chapter 45 See the glass half full Chapter 46 If you can dream it, you can achieve it Chapter 47 Am I heading in the right direction? Chapter 48 Who am I? Chapter 49 I can get you to say anything