The Need
MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership estimates that 17.6 million young people are at risk of not living up to their potential and could benefit from a relationship with a caring adult mentor.

Today, about 2.5 million young people are in formal, high-quality mentoring relationships. That leaves more than 15 million young people needing mentors. That unmet need constitutes the "mentoring gap." That gap can be significantly narrowed by complementing existing community-based programs with quality mentoring programs based in the nation's 15,000 public schools, which currently serve 47.5 million young people. The nation's school districts both recognize the need to connect with the communities around them and support the use of volunteer mentors from the community to help students succeed. With the passing of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, school districts have shown an increased interest in school-based mentoring as a way to support efforts to meet mandated state standards for student performance, particularly in regard to reading, math and English language proficiency.

In April 2000, a Public/Private Ventures report titled Mentoring School-Age Children called school-based mentoring a promising complement to the traditional community-based model.

How School-Based Mentoring Works
Typically, school-based mentoring takes place on school grounds before, during or after school. Mentors usually meet with students for one hour a week for a semester or longer. Volunteer activities can range from tutoring, reading and career counseling to sharing interests and helping with homework or special school projects.

The Benefits
A growing body of research indicates that school-based mentoring benefits students in a number of ways. Students mentored at school by community volunteers show improvement in their school performance, attendance, confidence, attitudes and relationships with adults and their peers.