Mentoring Information

How does mentoring work?

Mentors are placed on a mentoring team of 2-5 mentors and assigned to one of our school partners. Each team will lead weekly mentoring sessions at their school on the same day each week during after school programming (typically between 1pm-6pm on M-Th).

How do mentors get to their partner schools?

Some partner schools are within walking distance of the Homewood campus. For schools further from campus, mentoring teams will travel to their school site via Hop Van or by using a paid Lyft code provided by the Center for Educational Outreach (CEO). All teams will travel to and from their school site as a group each week.

What content do mentors use during their sessions?

Mentors are provided with online curriculum resources to use during sessions. This includes premade presentations, printable resources, hands-on activities and demonstration examples. CCSL also provides material kits for many lessons which can be used during sessions. Mentoring teams will work with their partner school coach to pick lessons and activities for each weekly session.

What is the time commitment?

Mentoring sessions vary by school, but typically last between 1-1.5 hours between the hours of 1pm-6pm on Mondays-Thursdays.  Some sessions take place during the school day between 8am-3pm. Travel to/from school sites typically takes between 15 - 40 minutes depending on traffic and how far away the school is from campus (Note: the return to campus can take longer if there is rush hour traffic). Mentors also meet weekly with their mentoring team before sessions to plan what lessons to run and review content they will use. 

Mentors should plan to allocate at least 3 hours per week --> 2-2.5 hours in mentoring sessions/traveling and 0.5-1 hour prepping for lessons with their team. We also require attendance at General Body Meeting taking place on one Saturday per month.

What is a typical schedule?

Each partner school has a different schedule based on their needs, but here is a general weekly schedule:

Day before the mentoring session:

• Mentors meet for ~30mins (in-person or on Zoom) to pick activities for the session based on Coach's request

Day of Mentoring session:

2:30pm - Mentors meet at their team meeting spot (ex. in front of Wyman Park building or CharMar)

2:30pm - 3:00pm - Head Mentor uses the Lyft code to call a car to travel to the school site

3:00pm-4:00pm - Mentoring session at a partner school

4:00pm-4:30pm - Mentors travel back to campus via Lyft

4:30pm - Head Mentor returns any materials borrowed for the session to the CCSL storage room and all mentors disperse

Mentors take on an important role when working with youth at our partner schools. As such, our mentors must commit to mentoring consistently to ensure they are building positive, dependable relationships with the students we serve. 

Here are the general requirements for joining CCSL:

• Must commit to attending mentoring sessions in-person for the entire semester. Active mentors are only allowed 1 excused absence per semester and require pre-approval.

• Each mentor MUST be available for from 1:30pm-5:30pm on at least ONE day of the week (Monday-Thursday).

• Must commit to prioritizing student safety at all times and complete mandatory child safety training requirements including:

  • Submitting paperwork for a background check and fingerprint screening (required once every 5 years)

  • Completing the university's mandatory online child safety training module (required annually)

  • Attending ~8 hours of CCSL mandatory training during the academic year to learn how to be a successful mentor and lead mentoring sessions/lessons

• Must attend all General Body Meetings (GBMs) held during the academic year (once per month)

For full expectations, check out our CCSL Mentor Expectations Document.

Benefits:

• Earn volunteer hours as you give back to the community and inspire/encourage Baltimore City students to explore STEM topics

• Deepen your connection to the Baltimore community and learn more about the K-12 education environment

• Share your passions for STEM with K-12 students

• Develop leadership and professional skills

Perks:

• Meet and volunteer with other Hopkins students sharing similar interests to you

• Free CCSL t-shirt

• Semester socials and free food

• Annual catered celebration banquet each May

• Eligibility to earn monetary mentoring rewards for outstanding performance

"CCSL helped me work on my leadership skills, as well as allowed me a break from school/academic work, which benefitted my well-being!” -JHU Mentor

"It helped reframe my understanding of scientific topics by allowing me to explain them in more digestible terms to a new audience. ” -JHU Mentor

"CCSL mentors rock!! They are an awesome asset to help our Baltimore students." - High School Partner Coach

"[CCSL Mentors] provide an extra layer of support that was crucial to our team's success." - Middle School Partner Coach

"You cannot teach or train a human being to have compassion and understanding. These emotions come from a person's will and want. Our CCSL mentors are mentally intelligent. However, their emotional intelligence is what aids youth. Thank you all for being both." - Middle School Partner Coach