Diamonds In The Rough Mentoring Program

em, social skills and school performance.

3. To create a caring Mentor relationship with students by engaging in social and emotional skill development, utilizing formal and informal interventions.

4. To build a workable model that is integrated within the frame work of high schools in the federation that can be easily replicated by others. A “How to Start a Program Manual’ has been created and will be available on our WEBSITE. The project is in its 5th year of existence and its implementation was encouraged by successful examination results in 2007 from a self-selected form 5 student study group at WAHS. The program offers a variety of activities for the youth with a focus on building self-esteem and improving Social skills of the students. These activities are aimed at deterring delinquency and reducing crime and violence in the Federation among youth. The program also aims at improving academic success for students in fifth form by offering support in the form of mentors, during the final year of high school. Research studies have shown that children with healthy self-esteem and solid social skills display success in all aspects of their life beyond the school years. There is also general agreement among researchers that in educational settings, the self-perceptions students create, develop, and hold to be true, along with perceptions about their academic capabilities are vital forces in their success or failure in school. Thus, a student’s sense of their academic self will have a substantial bearing on how they approach their studies. Therefore, a critical assumption for the project was that the use of caring mentor relationships, self-esteem and social skills building tools and activities would have a significant impact on student self-esteem and performance in a school setting and beyond. The program also builds on the recognition in the region of the importance of this connection between self-esteem and academic performance. This acknowledgement is supported by the design and introduction of the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC). The CCSLC incorporates skills, abilities, attitudes, and values that all secondary school leavers should have. Three of the general competences are management of emotions, positive self-concept, and working in groups. The name for the program came into being based on the guiding philosophy that “a diamond when extracted from the ground has rough edges, yet once subjected to care and attention, becomes polished and exquisite - so too children require support, nurturing and caring relationships to help them shine”. Volunteer Mentors are screened and a mentor training program is offered along with ongoing support to ensure that the Mentoring team meets its objectives.