Teachers as Mentors: Models for Promoting Achievement with Disadvantaged and Underrepresented Students by Creating Community

The book describes two similar and successful models of youth mentoring used by two acclaimed urban high schools that have consistently achieved exceptional graduation rates. Providing a detailed description of their methods - based upon extensive observation, and interviews with teachers, students, administrators, and parents - this book makes a major contribution to the debate on how to reduce the achievement gap. Using similar teacher-as-youth mentor and youth advising models, these two inner city schools - Fenway High School in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Kedma School in Jerusalem - have broken the cycle of failure for the student populations they serve-children from underrepresented groups living in poverty in troubled neighborhoods with few resources.

Apart from the potential of these models to narrow the achievement gap, these two schools have a record of creating a school climate that promotes safety, and reduces the incidence of bullying and violence. At the heart of both programs is creating community-between departments and fuctions in the school; and between teachers, staff, students and parents. Everyone in the school system should read this book.