Boys to Men Mentoring Network, a community of men dedicated to guiding and supporting disconnected boys on their journey to manhood, has established a groundbreaking partnership with the\u00a0San\u00a0Diego\u00a0Unified\u00a0School\u00a0District. The\u00a0nonprofit organization\u00a0provides a school-based\u00a0mentorship\u00a0program that inspires youth to make constructive life choices through role modeling and positive peer associations.
\nThe collaboration, approved March 12 by the\u00a0San\u00a0Diego\u00a0Unified\u00a0School\u00a0District\u00a0Board of Trustees, invites the La Mesa-based nonprofit to\u00a0establish\u00a0new\u00a0group circles\u00a0at various\u00a0middle and high schools within the\u00a0district\u00a0and provide its mentoring services to male students over the next five years. The partnership will build on the success of existing mentoring chapters established on Lincoln High\u00a0School, Knox Middle\u00a0School\u00a0and Millennial Tech Middle\u00a0School\u00a0campuses.
\nBoys to Men\u00a0Mentoring chapters are safe, sacred spaces where boys confront their fears and disappointments in a circle of positive, real-world adult male role models\u00a0and their peers. Weekly meetings take place\u00a0during\u00a0school\u00a0hours, in group circles, where boys are offered tools to help build their self-esteem, self-awareness, and a sense of accomplishment. In time, young lives are turned around. According to case studies\u00a0carried out by Boys to Men, the program leads to improvements in\u00a0grade point average;\u00a0reduces participants’ discipline occurrences, suspensions, and expulsions; reduces incidences of bullying and sexual harassment; and links young male students to a community\u00a0school-based group-mentoring program that includes group activities\u00a0and other opportunities beyond the\u00a0school\u00a0campus. Case study available for review at:\u00a0http:\/\/boystomen.org\/case-study\/.
\nMiddle and high\u00a0school\u00a0administrators are eyeing the transformation. A waiting list of 30 schools serves as a barometer of interest in the program, the number of deserving boys within its reach, and its track record of effectiveness.\u00a0
\nThe first step toward establishing a mentoring chapter on a\u00a0school\u00a0campus is simple: The drafting of a legal agreement between Boys to Men and\u00a0school\u00a0administrators,\u00a0outlining the terms and conditions of their partnership. The second step is more complicated, requiring Boys to Men to raise the funds to operate and staff new mentoring chapters.
\nChief Development Officer Joe Sigurdson is up to the challenge. The Boys to Men Mentoring Network co-founder and regional spokesperson views the organization’s Adopt-a-School\u00a0program as the key to realizing the full potential of the nonprofit’s partnership with\u00a0San\u00a0Diego County’s largest\u00a0school\u00a0district.
\n“It costs $20,000 to establish and operate a mentoring chapter, for 25 boys, on a\u00a0school\u00a0campus for one year,” Sigurdson explained. “That amounts to an $845 investment in the life of one boy who is willing to put in the hard work required to become the good man he wants to be.
\n“People spend roughly $150 a month for a mobile phone,” he continued. “By comparison, a $70 monthly contribution to our Adopt-a-School\u00a0program offers individuals, businesses and foundations a meaningful, long-term return on investment in the young men of our community.”
\nThe Adopt-a-School program is two-tiered: A $20,000 contribution sponsors a group-mentoring chapter, on a new campus, for the duration of one school year. An $845 donation affords one deserving boy a school year of empowering group-mentoring experiences. The program offers donors points of recognition designed to align their gift of philanthropy with the boys and mentors who together will embark on a life-changing journey.
\nOpening the\u00a0San\u00a0Diego\u00a0Unified\u00a0School\u00a0District’s 46 middle and high\u00a0school\u00a0campuses to Boys to Men will bring the organization one giant step closer to its ultimate goal: Making consistent, group-mentoring circles available to every teenage boy in\u00a0San\u00a0Diego\u00a0County.\u00a0
\n“We are grateful for this incredible opportunity,” Sigurdson said. “The\u00a0school\u00a0district’s board of trustees have placed their trust in us. They understand what we’ve always believed: No boy ever dreams of joining a gang, getting hooked on drugs or going to prison. Behind the tough guy, \u2018I don\u2019t care\u2019 facade, is a good boy who just needs a man to care about him.”
\nSigurdson views the partnership as a powerful catalyst for community engagement. “We look forward to joining forces with\u00a0San\u00a0Diegans who are fighting for a stronger community. An investment in Boys to Men Mentoring Network is an investment in our future. Together, we can give every boy coming of age in\u00a0San\u00a0Diego\u00a0the emotional literacy, life skills and self-confidence to become the good men of tomorrow.”
\nTo learn more about Boys to Men Mentoring Network’s Adopt-a School program and how to become involved, please contact Sigurdson directly at:\u00a0joe@boystomen.org. \u2014Molly Bowman-Styles is a public affairs professional and founder of Windandsea Communications in La Jolla.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Boys to Men Mentoring Network, a community of men dedicated to guiding and supporting disconnected boys on their journey to manhood, has established a groundbreaking partnership with the\u00a0San\u00a0Diego\u00a0Unified\u00a0School\u00a0District. The\u00a0nonprofit organization\u00a0provides a school-based\u00a0mentorship\u00a0program that inspires youth to make constructive life choices through role modeling and positive peer associations. The collaboration, approved March 12 by the\u00a0San\u00a0Diego\u00a0Unified\u00a0School\u00a0District\u00a0Board of […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":279584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"La Mesa-based mentoring group teams with San Diego Unified","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-279583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}