Mentoring

The Communities In Schools of Cleveland County Mentoring Program serves students from all over Cleveland County.

Program Goals
The program goals are to surround youth with a community of support and relationship with a caring adult, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Knowing that there is a connection between poverty and crime, that education is the only long-term solution to moving people out of poverty, and that education does not come without relationships, we look at measurable goals tied to educational improvement. The goals are to support mentors over the course of one full academic year, with a minimum of one-half year, in a mentor relationship with a child; to have a mentor relationship of intensity to meet best practice; to decrease disciplinary actions, juvenile-justice involvement, and gang affiliation; to increase attendance; and to improve academic performance. Each of these are risk factors for dropping out. A student who remains engaged in school will have reduced negative behaviors.

Referrals
The program provides a one-on-one relationship with a caring adult for vulnerable youth. Referrals are accepted from CIS programs and other community agencies. Youth eligible for the Mentoring Program are Cleveland County Schools enrolled or suspended youth, 6-17 years of age. Risk factors include court involvement, discipline issues, a potential for gang involvement, substance abuse (mentee or family), living in poverty, high absenteeism, poor academic performance, lack of parental involvement, and poor social skills. The Mentoring Coordinator requests and accepts referrals from school resource officers, Cleveland County Schools faculty and staff, CIS staff, and parents. Where a CIS program exists at the school attended by the youth, this service is added on by the Student Support Coach or Graduation Coach. If there is not an established program, the Mentoring Coordinator will case-manage the student. In this way, progress toward goals and effectiveness of the services can be assessed. Students referred for services must be enrolled in school.

If you are interested in being a part of the mentoring program in any way, please contact the Mentoring Coordinator, Marcus Crank, at 704-480-5569 or [email protected].