ERIC Number: ED661735
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Oct-25
Pages: 53
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Expanding the Village of Support through Virtual Mentoring: Evaluation of the U.S. Dream Academy Mentoring Program. Research Report. RR-A3442-1
Dionne Barnes-Proby; Susan Bush-Mecenas; Tara Laila Blagg; Christopher Joseph Doss; John F. Pane; Jennifer Jeffries
RAND Corporation
Formal mentoring has been an effective approach to mitigate challenges facing underserved youth and contributes to observable improvements in behavior, relationships, and emotional well-being. In recent years, virtual mentoring has emerged as a promising way to expand the provision of mentoring. By engaging virtually, mentorship programs can mitigate typical challenges of travel time and distance between mentor and mentee. Nonetheless, there are also challenges associated with virtual mentoring, including the potential for miscommunication and possible difficulties developing deep connections. In 2020, the U.S. Dream Academy began developing and implementing virtual and hybrid mentoring services to explore the benefits and address the challenges of virtual mentoring. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused widespread disruption in schooling in the United States, the U.S. Dream Academy leveraged this unique opportunity to begin implementing virtual mentoring. This report describes how the U.S. Dream Academy sought to expand its mentoring program to include a virtual option. The authors summarize the development and implementation of the mentoring program and lessons learned from this experience with the goal of supporting program improvement. This report may also assist other mentoring programs that seek to adopt a similar mentoring model. [The research for this report was sponsored by U.S. Dream Academy.]
Descriptors: Mentors, Computer Simulation, Youth Programs, Interpersonal Relationship, COVID-19, Pandemics, School Closing, Program Development, Program Improvement, Justice, Student Characteristics, Educational Benefits, Curriculum Implementation, Disadvantaged, At Risk Persons, Administrator Attitudes, Race, Gender Differences, Correctional Institutions, Parents, Middle School Students, High School Students, In Person Learning, Blended Learning, Behavior Problems, Child Behavior, Screening Tests, Questionnaires
RAND Corporation. P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138. Tel: 877-584-8642; Tel: 310-451-7002; Fax: 412-802-4981; e-mail: order@rand.org; Web site: http://www.rand.org
Related Records: ED661736
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: RAND Social and Economic Well-Being
Identifiers - Location: Florida (Orlando); Pennsylvania (Philadelphia); Utah; California; Texas (Houston); Maryland (Baltimore)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A