About the Youth

ctober 22, 2008 Express-News article showed the alarming findings of a report from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a San Antonio-based organization that has tracked school dropout rates for more than 20 years.

• • Every 4 minutes a student drops out of a Texas public school. 2

  • 2008 numbers are no better than the first report released in 19862. 2

  • In Bexar County, the 40% attrition rate is higher than state figures. 2

  • 10,363 students in the Class of 2008 left school without a diploma. 2

  • At current pace, the state will lose an additional 2.3 million to 6 million students before reaching an attrition rate of zero in 2042. 3

  • Children in South Texas are facing challenges that sometimes lead them to making decisions on their own that they are not fully equipped to make. 4

  • Texas schools are losing 1/3 of their students. 4

  • In the 2007-08 school year, 2,256,606 (48%) of the 4,671,493 public school students in Texas were identified as at risk of dropping out of school, the same percentage as the previous year.

  • The class of 2007 Drop Out Rate for Economically Disadvantaged Youth is 17.3% and for At Risk Youth is 18.1%. 5

  • Across the 27 TAKS subject tests administered in Grades 3-11, the passing rates for economically disadvantaged students trailed those for all students tested. 5

  • Passing rates for economically disadvantaged students ranged from 4 percentage points (Grade 11) to 6 percentage points (Grade 10) lower than those for all students tested. 5

Young persons who lack a strong relationship with a caring adult while growing up are much more vulnerable to a host of difficulties, ranging from academic failure to involvement in serious risk behaviors. Research finds that resilient youth—those who successfully transition from risk-filled backgrounds to the adult world of work and good citizenship—are consistently distinguished by the presence of a caring adult in their lives. 6

Constraints that cause a youth to be at-risk, underprivileged, or disadvantage include: 7

• • Characteristics present at birth

  • Family Situations

  • Residential location

  • Chronic health conditions

Mentoring Programs Offer Opportunities for Youth: 7

• • Information and technical and academic knowledge

  • Material resources

  • Safety and security

  • Emotional Support

  • Social support/interaction

  • Spirituality/meaning in life

How Youth Benefit from the Program

• • Develop a positive mentor/student relationship

    • The mentor/student relationship will develop as the student progresses through the program, and will continue even after the student graduates from the program.

    • The Harris Interactive study found that adults mentored as children are better educated, wealthier & more fulfilled than their peers. 8

    • The Public/Private Ventures study showed mentored children were: 9

      • 46% less likely to start using drugs

      • 27% less likely to start drinking

      • 52% less likely to skip a day of school

      • 33% less likely to hit someone

    • Those who reported having experienced a mentoring relationship since the age of 1 4 exhibited better outcomes within the doma ins of: 10

      • Education and work

      • Mental health

      • Problem behavior

      • Physical health

  • Improve school work

    • The mentor/student relationship will help the student.

      • Students will be encouraged to succeed at school.

      • If it matches their goals, the student will get help in starting college.

    • Most students will be recommended by school guidance counselors.

    • A focus on education and personal development is a focus of the program.

    • In a central Texas study released in 2005, 87% of children studied who were mentored graduated from HS or got their GED.

    • In a national study released in 2007, children who were mentored showed improvement in 8 academic areas.

  • Set goals for life

    • Mentors will help the students develop a plan for their life.

    • Mentors will help the students develop steps to achieve those goals.

    • Mentors will help the student learn how to make positive life choices.

  • Prepare for the future

    • Students work in a team environment and work towards common goals.

    • Students learn a marketable skill related to their targeted career goals.

    • Students learn about business development.

    • Students learn life skills beyond the work environment.

References

1 - Strengthening Mentoring Opportunities for At-Risk Youth www.ihrp.uic.edu/files/mentoring_policy_brief_feb09.pdf

2 - Big Brother and Big Sisters of South Texas http://www.bigmentor.org/outcomes

3 - Intercultural Development Research Association http://www.idra.org/Research/Attrition/

4 - University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) Mentoring Forum www.utsa.edu/mentoring/Mentoring%20Brochure.pdf

5 - Comprehensive Annual Report on Texas Public Schools  http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/research/pdfs/2008_comp_annual.pdf

6 - Strengthening Mentoring Opportunities for At-Risk Youth www.ihrp.uic.edu/files/mentoring_policy_brief_feb09.pdf

7 - Mentoring Programs and Youth Development:A Synthesis http://www.childtrends.org/files/MentoringSynthesisFINAL2.6.02Jan.pdf

8 - Harris Interactive: http://www.bigmentor.org/images/pdf/Adult%20Little%20Research%20Harris%20Interactive.pdf

9 - The EFFECTIVE NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY 1999: http://www.csdp.org/edcs/page10.htm

10 - Social Policy Report:  http://www.srcd.org/documents/publications/spr/spr20-3.pdf