As readers of this newsletter, you know I grieve over the statistics related to adolescent anxiety, isolation, depression, self harm, and suicide that are wreaking havoc in the lives of our precious students.

I have written extensively about how schools must address this in a host of ways

Today, I want to address one that is first and foremost in the DNA of the school I started and run (Odyssey Leadership Academy): MENTORING

At Odyssey, we start each and every day with mentor time so that every student knows they have a safe space to process the celebrations and difficulties that come with adolescence.

Mentoring is the heart of who we are, and it allows us to place a high level of attention on the needs of each individual student.

It is our answer to the cry of students to know that they are heard and that their stories matter.

Before I unpack what we do at OLA, here are some key statistics related to the power of mentoring to reverse the traumatic statistics I just mentioned:

• Students with mentors are 52% less likely to skip school and 37% less likely to skip class.

• Youth with mentors are 46% less likely to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking.

• Youth with mentors report fewer depressive symptoms than their peers.

• 55% of young adults with mentors who face an opportunity gap are more likely to get a higher education.

• 58% per­cent of young peo­ple say their men­tor has sup­port­ed their men­tal health. 

With this in mind, I will unpack how mentoring is the moral center and guiding force behind Odyssey Leadership Academy

To begin, as you have heard me say before, we are in firm and unapologetic pursuit of Human Flourishing at OLA. This is vastly different from the “success, achievement, and accomplishment” that typically serve as North Stars at most schools

Given that our North Star is Human Flourishing, and given how serious we take the research on adolescent well-being and mentoring, we make Mentoring the primary focus of what we do and why we do it

MENTOR TIME

The moral center of OLA revolves around the idea that, in order to educate fully flourishing human beings, there must be people who speak life into one another in a caring community. 

We do daily mentoring every morning so every student has a safe, caring, accountable community of trust and belonging. In fact, we set aside the first forty five minutes of every single school day for what we call Mentor Time so students know that the most important thing to us is not “bell work” or quiz prep, but caring adults doing life with them.

Mentor Time often looks like playing volleyball, grabbing coffee, putting together puzzles, playing board games and eating lots and lots of donuts…but it always looks like us telling students out loud that they are valued and valuable to us.

Mentoring certainly happens during that dedicated 45 minutes each morning, but we believe it actually happens at all times in all spaces: eating together around the lunch table, playing ultimate frisbee at the park, sipping cappuccinos in coffee shops, helping each other rappel down a mountain, sitting around a campfire at 13,000 feet, teaching guitar, working through trigonometry, learning how to write a thesis paper.…

In fact, we say “There are no small moments at OLA” meaning every moment and every interaction with students matters immensely

MENTORS

Each faculty member at OLA is a Mentor and works with a given group of age/grade level students. We split our groups along the lines of 6th-8th graders, 9th and 10th graders, and 11th-12th graders, with a faculty member leading each cohort. Students move up from each group to the next with their classmates.

While these groups certainly discuss college, academic and career issues, they are not “advisory time”; rather, Mentor Time is a devoted time intentionally designed to provide a safe, caring community where every student knows they belong and have value.

While our mentors are our faculty, a Mentor is not just a teacher. He or she teaches classes, leads electives, advises students on course selection, gets to know the needs of each student's family, helps out with college advising, and is there to offer encouragement and support throughout the student's journey.

The Mentor is a guide, a support, a cheerleader, and an advocate.

What they are NOT is a counselor, buddy, therapist, youth pastor, or friend. We recognize our limitations and set strict boundaries on what those relationships look like and how we interact within them. When an issues arises that is beyond our capacity, we hand off to other authorities and experts, letting parents know where our work ends and that of another must begin.

CAN THIS BE DONE IN TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS?

YES! But before I answer that, I must say it absolutely SHOULD be done everywhere!

As I have written about before, teenagers today are facing traumatic levels of isolation and loneliness never before seen in any generation and greater than even those reported by elderly shut ins.

Today’s teenagers are suffering from a crisis of loneliness that is literally killing them.

If schools genuinely care about the health and well-being of students, carving out time for belonging and community is THE top priority for the success of the children in their care

So…how can they make mentoring a priority?

Here is what I would suggest first:

Hold leadership and faculty conversations around the importance of creating intentional mentor groups and mentor time related to student well-being. Bring in experts to talk about the statistics I shared earlier and why creating a mentor program at your school is actually a value-add to the learning environment

Hold conversations with parents and stakeholders to let them know you are prioritizing the health and well-being of their student as high as (if not higher than) their academic achievements. Let parents know you are committed to their child’s full care and host town halls to explain why you are moving this direction and how the school is partnering with them in the shared work of fostering flourishing in their child

After you have the buy in required to create a mentoring program, here is how I would carve out the time to set it up assuming a seven period, 50 minute per class session day (if it is different in your school, do the math accordingly):

Shave off five minutes from each class and add those five minutes together at the start of the day to create the time necessary to foster the mentoring community

7 classes x 5 minutes = 35 minutes of mentor time (we do ours for 45 minutes, but even 35 minutes is better than nothing)

To create consistent community, I strongly believe mentor time should:

a) Be every day…without exception: Remember, these 35 minutes may be the only engaging community some students will have with a caring adult all day

b) Start the day: There is a loud message sent when the day starts not with busy work, bells, or quizzes…but with community

Starting the day with mentor time gives students a chance to share or ask for help, gives faculty time to let other teachers know of any pressing issues being faced by students before the academic day begins, starts the day with a sense of belonging and purpose, and sets the tone for the entire day.

Will you lose some academic time and content coverage? YES but what you gain in student health and well-being very well might just translate into higher academic outcomes and lower behavioral issues, making the cost/benefit analysis worth it

Will it be difficult to get this going? YES

Will it take time? YES

Will there be pushback and dissent? YES

Is it worth it to save the hearts, minds, and lives of our students???? YES!!!!

READY TO START?

→ For those genuinely interested and truly ready to make caring for kids the primary reason for being in education, I invite you to check out the work we are doing at Odyssey Leadership Academy. We start each day with a 45 minute mentor time where we play volleyball, eat donuts, drink lots of coffee and, most importantly, let students know they matter. It’s a beautiful thing that impacts everything else we do.

If you would like to take the next step towards seeing that vision come to be, feel free to reach out!

My work exists to help schools tell a better story for students, educators and the world. If I can help in any way—from workshops, consulting calls, professional development, keynotes, or year long cohorts—let me know!

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