Peer Advisory <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
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<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Kent Island High School
Part 1-Advisory Overview
The Mentor Advisory Program(M.A.P.) at Kent Island High School
1.Kent Island High School implemented a Teacher Advisory Program (M.A.P..) for all students in January 2002.
2. Students attend regularly scheduled "advisory" periods led by teachers and peer leaders.
3. Small groups foster a sense of connection and caring among students and staff.
4. Through these groups, students receive personalized guidance and support in study skills, life skills, and career education.
What is M.A.P..?
M.A.P.. is a student facilitated advisory program aimed at helping high school students integrate fully into the high school experience. Eleventh and twelfth grade students serve as peer advisors to approximately 15-18 students. These student leaders use their leadership skills and understanding of group dynamics during M.A.P.. meetings to foster in their groups a positive attitude toward high school. M.A.P.. intends, through role modeling and education, to motivate students to make thoughtful choices regarding academic, personal, and career needs and to provide support services for high school students within a small group setting.
What are the objectives for M.A.P.?
1. Work to develop personal relationships
2. Participate in small group discussions
3. Explore career/college options
4. Develop peer leadership opportunities
5. Build a caring environment for students and staff
What are the goals for M.A.P..?
1. Develop positive attitudes
2. Make healthy choices
3. Respect for self and others
4. Accept responsibility
5. Set goals
6. Improve study skills
7. Identify career interests
SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS FOSTER SUCCESS
FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS
ACT Policy Report
George L. Wimberly
© 2002 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.
(Excerpts)
"The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) recommends that every high school student have a Personal Adult Advocate to help personalize the educational experience. All students need to know that at least one adult in the school continually cares about them and their future after high school. Teachers, counselors, principals, and other school administrators can serve as Personal Adult Advocates. NASSP recommends that they work with about 20 students and follow their progress throughout high school, and that schools structure their time so students and Personal Adult Advocates can meet at least once a week. NASSP has provided a
framework for fostering effective school relationships through the Personal Adult Advocate model. This policy study builds on that concept by showing the strengths and weaknesses of African American students’ school relationships, and how these relationships can affect students’ educational outcomes."
This study uses data for 14,915 respondents, including 1,685 African Americans, who completed all four waves of the National Educational Longitudinal Study, which tracked students from 1988, when they were 8th graders, through 1994, when most of the students were about two years beyond high school. School relationship characteristics reflect some of the possible Personal Adult Advocate areas of influence and the resultant impact on the school environment. Outcome measures include students’ educational expectations and their postsecondary participation two years beyond high school.
Roughly two-thirds of all students expected to earn at least a college degree, and just over 10% expected no education beyond high school. Students expressed the clear desire to not only complete education beyond high school but to earn college and advanced degrees that might better enable them to successfully compete in the rapidly changing U.S. labor market. However, the findings indicate a gap between the educational expectations of African American students and their postsecondary participation two years past high school. Although most African American students (88%) expected to attend college or earn a college or advanced degree, just over half (56%) were moving toward that goal. Comparatively, 89% of white students expected to attend college or earn a college or advanced degree and 67% were actually in the process of meeting that goal. African American and white students had different school experiences. The findings suggest that in the schools African American students attended: fewer students were on a college preparatory track; fewer students took advanced placement courses; and the college-going rates were lower than those in high schools predominantly attended by white students. Among African Americans, three of the five school relationship characteristics had a positive effect on their educational expectations and postsecondary participation: School Personnel Expectations, Teachers Talking with Students, and School Extracurricular Participation. These three school relationship characteristics exemplify how African American students can benefit from school relationships within each one of these school contexts: their perceptions of staff postsecondary expectations, discussions with staff about academic and postsecondary issues outside of class, and participation in school-sponsored activities.
Educational expectations and postsecondary participation were higher among students who talked with their teachers and had positive feelings toward them. These interactions and positive feelings contributed to more cohesive school relationships. This finding was supported for whites, but only partially for African Americans. It is important for teachers and school personnel to
recognize differences between the school culture and students’ own ethnic and cultural identity. Students develop trust and respect for their teachers when their cultural identity is supported in the classroom. Conversely, social, economic, and cultural gaps between African American students and their teachers may make it difficult for students to form cohesive relationships. Students (primarily white) who formed good school relationships had higher educational expectations and postsecondary participation. They developed the necessary bond with their teachers and school personnel to take advantage of the knowledge and experiential resources the school offered. These students
may have expressed behaviors and attitudes that school personnel responded to favorably, and may also have had similar cultural experiences, attitudes, and behaviors. However, it is just as likely there may have been cultural and social gaps between other students (African Americans) and their teachers that served as obstacles to positive student-school relationships. Study findings suggest three major recommendations for improving school relationships for African Americans (and perhaps for all students) and increasing their educational expectations and postsecondary participation.
Districts should evaluate school relationship models (including NASSP’s Personal Adult Advocate model), determine the essential characteristics and needs of their students, and implement a program that best fosters these
important relationships and begins at least in the middle school. The school district’s implementation plan should include cultural, social, and economic diversity awareness and training components so that staff are sensitive to these potential differences and do not inadvertently allow them to become barriers to building effective relationships with students. Schools should make available school-based and school-sponsored activities that connect students to adults in their school and encourage all students to participate in these activities.
Here is what US News and World Report said about the importance of advisory groups
The Character of the School
Traits that Great Institutions Share
"Outstanding schools do not all look alike, but they do have certain traits in common, according to the U.S. News analysis of 1,053 schools in six metro areas."
MENTORS TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS
U.S. News and World Report 1/18/99
"Mentoring programs ensure that students don't pass through school unnoticed and untended. Ideally, groups of 15-20 kids to talk about study skills, college applications, and social issues. Progressive schools train students to serve as mentors, tutors, and confidantes."
Dates for Advisory 2003-2004
September 16th
October 7th
November 4th
December 9th
February 10th-11th
March 16th
April 20th
Time: 40 minutes from 8:10-8:55
Schedule will be adjusted accordingly