What to Expect

Wondering what it would look like to bring Affinity Mentoring to a school? Here is what our partner schools can expect:

WHAT AFFINITY MENTORING PROVIDES

An on-site Affinity staff member that facilitates and manages the program at the school
Identification, solicitation, and recruitment volunteer mentor applicants
Management of all operational activities including screening, training, matching, support and supervision, recognition, and closure procedures
Management of programmatic activities including but not limited to development of policies and procedures and case management.
Mentoring costs $1,282/match/year [National average is approx. $1600/match/year]. Affinity works with school + community partners to develop sustainable funding.
Active participation in the community school model by collaborating with the school and community partners
Coordination one-to-one mentor and mentee matching
Training of all program volunteers in accordance with mentoring best practices as well as school requirements [topics include but are not limited to: the role of a mentor, literacy fundamentals, collaboration with parents and school staff, child development, cultural competency, boundaries, confidentiality, separation of church and state, prevention and reporting of abuse and neglect, match closure]
Evaluation of the program for effectiveness of both process and outcome goals

WHAT WE EXPECT FROM OUR PARTNER SCHOOLS

The Mentor Center is the hub of all mentoring activity around a school and it is a core part of why our model is so successful. Having an Affinity Mentoring program staff on-site at the school relieves the school staff of the day to day program management responsibilities. Furthermore, having a place to land, find resources and seek support is key for our mentors and students. Therefore, in order to be an Affinity Mentoring site, the school must provide a dedicated space on the campus.
Identify appropriate students for referral, seek parental consent and complete referrals
Advise on the academic and social-emotional needs of participating youth
Assist in providing program evaluation data for participating students including grades, attendance records, discipline records, and counselor and teacher reports. [Affinity Mentoring will ensure that all applicable releases of information are on file.]
Provide a contact person and maintain regular communication with Affinity Mentoring staff
Cooperate with Affinity Mentoring Site Coordinator and/or designated staff
Champion Affinity Mentoring to support sustainability and continued growth of the program

OTHER SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The majority of students in the school are experiencing poverty [as measured by free/reduced lunch rates and/or the school’s receipt of Title 1 or 31a funds.]
Be located in West Michigan [Kent or Ottawa County]

ANTICIPATED PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

School application
Site visit & initial partnership meeting
Additional partnership planning meetings, as necessary
Engagement of community stakeholders and establishment of community partnerships to support the new location
Establish a Memorandum of Understanding and other required agreements or paperwork
Funding secured for program expansion to new school
Affinity Mentoring hires and places Site Coordinator
Affinity Mentoring works with community partners to recruit, screen and train mentors as well as engage families, school staff, etc. in preparation for launching of the mentoring program.
Mentor matches are made for approved volunteers and students.
Mentoring begins!

APPLY TO HAVE AFFINITY MENTORING JOIN A SCHOOL

We’re hearing from many school administrators that there is a great need for a partner to provide and manage trained volunteers to support their school. So, we are currently building a multi-year expansion plan to add more sites throughout West Michigan in the next few years. If you would like to explore bringing Affinity Mentoring to a school and/or to be considered in this strategic expansion plan, please complete the application.

PREVIEW THE PARTNER SCHOOL APPLICATION

START THE PARTNER SCHOOL APPLICATION

Questions? Contact us:
Laura Ward, Executive Director
lward@affinitymentoring.org
616.406.3987