The College of Education and Human Development has been awarded a $7,000 AT&T Foundation grant to advance its “Just Like Me” mentoring program that caters to at-risk girls from Grades 6-12.
President of Mississippi operations for AT&T Mayo Flynt said, “Dropout prevention is a national issue, and the foundation is excited about this opportunity to be engaged. This program aligns with our mission.”
Dr. Daniel Watkins, dean of the College of Education and Human Development, describes the program as a “collaboration between Jackson Public Schools and Jackson State University, with the College of Education taking the lead.” He is also thrilled with the monetary boost from AT&T.
“It’s a small grant, but we’re hoping if we’re successful with this grant by encouraging these young ladies that it may open the door for a larger grant that will allow us to help more young ladies,” Watkins said.
“Just Like Me” aims to advise at least 50 high school sophomore girls when the pilot launches in August of this year. The “tiered mentorship” will match 10 college students directly with mentees in groups of five. The college mentors will then be provided with university-level guides for added support and guidance.
Nadine Gilbert, coordinator for the College of Education’s Curriculum Center, conceptualized the program while contemplating the state of students in K-12.
“I specifically thought about the girls’ pregnancy and dropout rates, and the idea just came to me,” Gilbert said.“They need support; they need models, and what they need is something that will allow them to know that they can be just like me – and not just like me in the sense of just like Nadine. Instead, they needed mentorship from students or other females that were not too far removed from their age that they could relate to better.”
Gilbert views College of Education interim associate dean Dr. Tamika Bradley as integral to the fruition of “Just Like Me.”
“I had this grand idea that came from the heart, and she was really able to take it and add more structure to it. Definitely, the tiered mentoring, which added the faculty mentoring for our student mentors, I think is a critical piece,” said Gilbert, who is also the coordinator of the U.S. Preparatory Grant for Teacher Transformation.
Bradley mirrors Gilbert’s passion, saying, “If you look at the landscape of dropout prevention, a lot of the focus is on African-American males. While that is a critical area, we don’t want to marginalize or forget the African-American female.”
Bradley and Gilbert wanted mentors of various majors with diverse backgrounds. They put out the call through JSU’s Department of Student Life. College juniors and seniors are preferred.
“We want people who are committed, who are not looking for pay, who want to motivate and change lives. We want people who take out the time because even the college-age young ladies need some direction, some motivation, encouragement and support with so many of the things that they are faced with. I think that tiered mentorship really provides an advantage to the program’s success,” Bradley said.
Mentees will be selected by school counselors and must fall within the criteria predetermined by the program. This criterion includes, but is not limited to, individuals who may have repeat disciplinary or attendance issues.
“Just Like Me” will provide weekly onsite mentorship with monthly meetings consisting of varied social and cultural activities such as trips to local art museums, restaurants and engagement with other female professionals within a university structure.
Program will engage those most challenged
“So many times they get overlooked, and nobody wants to deal with the high-risk student, the one with the high referrals, or the problems they may have had like teen pregnancy. Or, they may have a high truancy level, but those are the ones we want to engage. We want to show them there are options other than what they think they see every day. That could be high school graduation completion, vocational opportunities, and even college readiness,” Bradley said.
Overall, the program will focus on improving mentees’ “soft skills” such as self-esteem, self-determination and self-confidence, which will positively impact “hard targets” such as academic success.
An added benefit of the “Just Like Me” program is that it allows the opportunity for “collaborative partnerships.”
The Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities will offer to mentees programs and resources on nutrition, women’s health and physical, mental and emotional health.
Additionally, the Jackson Public Schools Partners in Education will provide a variety of informational and interactive workshops to the parents of mentees in order to solidify successful student participation.
“The root of this is education has always been a vocation, a matter of the heart for me and not just an occupation so even though I left K-12, my heart remained there, so I have a great desire to reach back, stay connected and still make a difference,” Gilbert said.