Mentoring

Kansas City Public Schools was selected by the Obama Administration as 1 of 30 school districts in the nation to participate in and implement a groundbreaking campaign to address chronic absenteeism in public schools: the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Success Mentors Initiative. The MBK Success Mentors program aims to connect students with dedicated Success Mentors in the first-ever effort to use an evidence-based and data-driven mentor model to support students and tackle chronic absenteeism.

Success Mentors serve as motivators, problem solvers, connectors, and advocates for students in grades 6-9. They form supportive relationships, identify and celebrate students’ strengths, promote their attendance every day, and connect them with the necessary resources to keep them on track and thriving.

What Can Success Mentors Expect?

Success Mentors will:

• Be matched with a student in grades 6 – 10 at Kansas City Public Schools
• Attend an initial 2 hour, pre-match training
• Serve as a positive role model and friend, promote good attendance and goal setting
• Commit to supporting their mentee for an entire school year
• Check in with their mentees for 30 minutes on a weekly basis; at minimum
• Invest in the present and future success of a student in Kansas City Public Schools

For more information, please email mentoring@kcpublicschools.org.

The KCPS Lunch Buddies is a program in which a mentor is matched with an elementary school student in grades K-5 and visits the school each week to eat lunch with their mentee. Lunch Buddies provide guidance, support, encouragement, and friendship.

What can a Lunch Buddy Expect?

Lunch Buddies will:

• Be matched with an elementary school student in grades K – 5 at Kansas City Public Schools
• Attend an initial 2 hour, pre-match training
• Serve as a positive role model and friend
• Commit to supporting their mentee for an entire school year
• Check in with their mentees over one lunch period on a weekly basis; at minimum
• Invest in the present and future success of a student in Kansas City Public Schools

For more information, please email mentoring@kcpublicschools.org.

The KCPS Career Mentoring program matches working or retired business professionals to students in grades 11 – 12. Career Mentors provide career guidance, career exposure, and career planning support for them as they begin their transition into college or the workforce.

What Can Career Mentors Expect?

Career Mentors will:

• Be matched with a student, or group of students, in grades 11 – 12 at Kansas City Public Schools
• Attend an initial 2 hour, pre-match training
• Assist students with learning more about the knowledge and skills required to be successful in your career field
• Commit to supporting their mentee for an entire school year
• Check in with their mentees once per month; at minimum
• Connect students to workshops, internships and networking opportunities when possible
• Invest in the present and future success of a student in Kansas City Public Schools

For more information, please email mentoring@kcpublicschools.org.

Audience: 9th-12th Grade Students  

Program Description 

The R.I.S.E. Program is a college and career readiness mentoring program that has an intentional focus of preparing students to attend post-secondary institutions and/or technical schools. Students become part of the program beginning their freshman year of high school and obtain mentorship: academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally over the course of their time in high school. In addition to the mentorship and support, R.I.S.E. Students also participate in monthly workshops that reinforce the importance of community, authenticity, resiliency, and excellence. During monthly workshops, students navigate between sessions of their choice, that help them reach their own academic, personal, and professional goals.  While the R.I.S.E. Program is open to any participant of any: race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or sex; the design of the program has been developed with intentionality on students of color.  

Our Vision

With the guidance and support of a dedicated R.I.S.E. Mentor, all student participants will be provided the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral supports to thrive. R.I.S.E. Participants will be equipped with the tools necessary to not only gain acceptance into a college or postsecondary institution/technical school, but also successfully graduate from a secondary institution/ technical school and obtain a career that they are both passionate about and prepared to lead.   

 

Program Goals

• Empower historically marginalized students to successfully graduate from high school.
• Aid students in high-school course planning and graduation. 
• Provide active mentorship that both encourages and challenges students.
• Assist students and families through the college/technical school admissions process.
• Provide students with experiences to visit colleges/universities and technical schools.
• Inform, practice, and register for college entrance exams.
• Increase student's sense of belonging while nurturing the cultural, social, and linguistic identities of students of color.
• Develop an individualized plan to help students achieve their goals.

 

Core Values

• Community
• Authenticity
• Resiliency
• Excellence