On Wednesday, July 29, MENTOR hosted a webinar to discuss how educators and organizations are implementing relationship-based approaches to support underserved students, who are impacted most heavily by both COVID-19 and violent racial injustices. In addition to increased isolation due to pandemic restrictions, some middle and high schoolers have increased responsibilities such as taking care of younger siblings or taking on a full-time job as the new breadwinner. Many underserved students have limited or no access to WiFi and/or devices, which make it even more difficult for them to stay motivated after a traumatizing summer rife with racial injustice and violence. Now more than ever, educators must prioritize students’ social and emotional learning (SEL), and many are turning to relationship-based approaches like mentorship for impact. 

Jason Cascarino, Strategic Advisor and Consultant in the social sector, served as moderator and introduced Dr. Bernadette Sanchez, Psychology PhD and Professor of Community Psychology at DePaul University. Dr. Sanchez shared that many studies have shown mentoring interventions help young people practice specific social and emotional skills, develop their racial/ethnic identity and have positive attitudes towards themselves and others.

Cascarino then introduced Dr. Derald Davis, Assistant Superintendent of Equity, Inclusion and Innovation at Kansas City Public Schools. Davis spoke about how his district-wide mentoring program has resulted in students outperforming their peers both academically and emotionally. Entering the fourth year of this program this year, Dr. Davis said, “We do not want to disrupt this success and Kansas City has embraced our mentorship initiative. We’re having to transition our traditional mentoring program to a virtual program, which is new for us but young people are digital natives so we think it’s going to be an easy transition for them.”

While digital transitions may be easy for young people, teachers are not as quick to learn and maximize technology, the key to helping students stay engaged. Alisa Wilke, Vice President of Strategy & Innovation at American Student Assistance (ASA), shared that in one of the hardest-hit schools ASA supports, students report that it’s hard to stay focused because they can’t get in touch with some of their teachers. “We need to help teachers manage isolation and their own feelings of inadequacy around technology so they can get their students engaged.” Wilke believes that this is where project-based learning (PBL) can step in as a powerful tool for teachers to drive SEL outcomes. 

CEO Emily McCann shared that for Citizen Schools, during this critical time, the guiding principle is to partner very closely with school districts to meet their students’ needs, providing resources and capacity when and where they need it most. “Our approach has been to tell our school partners, let us be an extension of you so we can provide steady SEL support.”

This past Spring, Citizen Schools Campus Directors and Teaching Fellows mobilized quickly to make sure students and families felt cared for and stable. Daily 1:1 calls with parents and family members ensured they knew where to pick up free devices and meals. Virtual apprenticeships and clubs like Coding Academy and Lego Robotics kept students connected and learning with Google volunteers who adapted quickly to remote learning needs. The Catalyst Virtual Climate Science unit gave teachers the resources and materials they need to teach an engaging virtual lesson.

Another focus in ensuring students' social emotional learning is problem-solving. “There’s nothing better than the agency and creativity involved in solving a problem to make students feel they are part of a solution,” said McCann. “One young student in Somerville, MA came to us shortly after George Floyd’s death and said, ‘I feel like I want to say something to my teachers and students’. This student’s initiative resulted in a collaborative restorative justice circle to give both students and faculty a safe space to build common ground and community.” 

Citizen Schools is also letting student voices lead programming. Another student asked “How come we don’t see engineers of color?”, which volunteers from the Race & Ethnic Diversity in Technology Team at Morgan Stanley answered and discussed during the “People of Color in STEM” Virtual Learning Hour. As schools navigate uncharted waters this fall, Citizen Schools is ready to support educators and students in the ways they need it most.