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Successes at Saturday Academy

Nearly 100 Seedling and Communities In Schools (CIS) mentors and School Contacts gathered at Travis High School on January 21 for an enriching morning of dialogue and learning.  Fourteen breakout session included topics as varied as early strategies for keeping your mentee in school, how to have difficult conversations, using literature to engage your mentee, and helping your mentee find self-esteem.  Evaluation comments included

• Great information and very knowledgeable presenters

• The take-aways will allow me to “think” about my best intent for the student–and hopefully have an impact.

• Very useful information – wish I could bring all my relationships to this event.

• Breakfast was awesome!

Some of our outstanding presenters have graciously allowed us to post their materials on our website at Mentor Resources.

For a photo gallery of the day, click Saturday Academy!

Thank you to all of our presenters and to our wonderful mentors who make a difference every day.  We appreciate you.

Sari Waxler, Executive Director

Boundary Scenarios:  What Seedling Staff Decided

Training and support are the cornerstones of the Seedling’s Promise Mentor Program for children with a parent in prison.  Boundaries are often slippery and difficult to define, so the Seedling Mentor Directors train our Mentors in setting and maintaining them for the health of the relationship.  In our site-based mentoring program, we are aided by the Campus Professionals at Austin Independent School District in a partnership that fosters and supports the mentor matches.

The following scenarios were shared by Seedling staff as stories from their own mentoring relationships.  This is the first in a series of articles about boundary issues.

Topic:  Meeting the mentee’s basic needs

Scenario: When the mentor met the student’s caregiver at the Seedling luncheon, the caregiver shared openly about her financial struggles. The mentor learned that the children were sleeping on the floor, and that the family didn’t have hot water in the house. The mentor’s first thoughts were to pay the bill and buy beds for the children. After reflecting, the mentor realized that providing financially for the family was outside her role as a mentor and could have unintended consequences, including altering the mentee-mentor dynamic, her first responsibility.

Conclusion: The mentor worked with the Parent Support Specialist on the campus to identify resources for the family and was able to contribute anonymously to help offset unmet needs.

————–

Topic:  Including friends in the mentoring relationship

Scenario: The mentee asked repeatedly if a friend could join them during their mentoring session and pouted when the mentor declined. The mentor reflected on the reasons it isn’t appropriate for another child to join them. She considered the legal reason; she doesn’t have permission to meet with the other child, and there could be unintended consequences. She also considered the  long-term  impact on the relationship: 30 minutes to meet is a brief time, and including friends would dilute the benefit of the 1:1 relationship. The mentor also reflected on what might be causing the mentee to want a friend to come along.  Is there something that’s missing for the mentee? What would bringing a friend along provide? Entertainment? Ease in talking?

Conclusion: The mentor gently explored the mentee’s reasoning to see if there was an unmet need to be discovered.  Mentors should also do a mental self-inventory to assess honestly if s/he is tempted to give in, and why?  Would it be to please the mentee? To ease the mentor’s pressure in the relationship? To help with conversation?

Want to learn more?  Click for “On Boundaries,” an informative PDF that explains what healthy boundaries are and their benefits in a mentoring relationship.

By Falba Turner, Project Director for Seedling’s Promise Mentor Program   

Suki Steinhauser of CIS and Sari Waxler of Seedling

The Seedling Foundation believes that education and support changes the mentoring paradigm.

From the beginning of the program, we have offered Seedling’s Promise Mentor University to our Mentors.  Mentor University includes orientation, training, role-playing, Mentor Minute informational newsletters, continuing support from our Mentor Directors and regular support luncheons throughout the year.

In addition, once a year we gather together with hundreds of Mentors in the Austin area and offer a half day of workshops and training that we call the Saturday Academy.  For the last two years, Communities in Schools, Central Texas, has joined us in this activity and many Mentors have benefited.

The workshops are comprehensive in scope and the topics are chosen by Mentors through an online survey.  Seedling’s gratitude goes out to the 88 mentors who completed the interest survey to let us know their topics of high interest.  Thanks to their valuable input, January 21, 2012 participants can look forward to presentations on Self-Esteem, Difficult Conversations, Positive Youth Development, the Non-Talkative Mentee, Drop-out Prevention, Personality Types, Bullying, Antisocial Behaviors, Healthy Relationships, Middle-school Mentoring, Using Literature, Children of Trauma, and Future Matters.

Our web site will feature some of the hand outs from these workshops for future reference, and it is our hope that the Mentors of Seedling’s Promise and Communities in Schools spend a wonderful, informative morning together.

-Sari Waxler, Executive Director

So this month, we decided to take a different approach by inviting mentors to tell us what they gained from participating in “Hidden Rules.” Here are some excerpts from their comments:

“It reminded me of that first conversation where I asked him about his Thanksgiving plans and got a sad little boy’s response to a not so fun weekend. I’m glad I learned how to handle it differently.”

“It helped me to realize I must step out of my world or rather open my mind to other people’s reality. I grew up having turkey and dressing on Thanksgiving Day, no matter how poor we might be. So I could not imagine someone not having that until my mentee changed that for me. I was unsure of how to respond to her so I ended up changing the subject. I was stuck!”

“What I got out of this training is that we all come from different backgrounds and cultures.”

When we reflect back to years past, one might remember the joy on the faces of family members sitting around the dining room table sharing stories and the fact that money was scarce is not as big a deal because of the unity and closeness they shared. Others may have had the exact opposite, presents galore but lacked in the warmth and closeness. Still others might have experienced a little of both worlds.

As mentors, it’s important to build positive memories with our little one, ensuring that they don’t feel judged, whatever their situation. My mentee, for instance, doesn’t celebrate Christmas although her mother attended the Seedling luncheon last year. I was glad she did because I saw the way she related to her children. I’ll bet she does her best as a mother to compensate in other ways so her children don’t feel isolated from what happens to be the most celebrated holiday in the world. As for my mentee and I, well, we call it “the winter break” and we leave it at that!

-Sari Waxler, Executive Director

“He remembers what we talk about.”

This simple statement is the profound summation of the impact one child’s mentor has had this year, as reported by one of the Seedling mentees who participated in our annual evaluation. Each spring, Seedling conducts surveys of mentors, mentees, teachers, and school contacts, as well as analyzing data related to academic outcomes. We are assisted in this effort by Dr. Karen Looby, a senior Evaluation Supervisor for Austin ISD.

 
Do you wonder if you are making a difference? Absolutely, you are! What exactly do the students have to say? How do they measure compared to a control group of other at-risk students attending the same schools?

 
Among the highly positive findings from the student surveys were that most of the children;

• felt happy and important when they were with their mentors
• trusted their mentors
• believed their mentors listened to them and were supportive
•  looked forward to seeing their mentors

What about academic outcomes?

Seedling mentees had similar attendance rates, compared with other students attending the same schools. This finding is considered positive, given that the mentees are a highly mobile population and may be experiencing circumstances that negatively influence regular school attendance. Further, mentees reported on their surveys that they tried to be in school on the days their mentors were scheduled to visit.

 
Although a higher percentage of Seedling mentees had discipline infractions compared with their peers, the average and maximum number of offenses decreased from the previous year for Seedling mentees.

 
They tended to get into the same type of “trouble” as their peers, with most of their offenses being low-level in nature. These findings are considered positive, as research indicates that children with incarcerated parents are more likely to exhibit physical aggression and classroom behavior difficulties than their peers (Trzcinski, E., Satayanathan, D., and Ferro, L., 2002).

 
In TAKS scores, Seedling mentees performed similarly to their peers, a finding considered positive since children who have incarcerated parents often encounter additional challenges to their academic growth, e.g. irregular attendance, mobility, discipline issues, preoccupation with home circumstances, etc.
These results are similar to the gratifying news we have received each year the program has existed.  Click to read the Seedling’s Promise Program Evaluation Report by Karen Looby, PhD.

 
Thank you for your contribution to these important outcomes!

Falba Turner, Project Director for Seedling’s Promise Mentor Program

As their names were announced and they came up to the stage to receive their certificates at the Mentor Appreciation Event last May…the audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation for these young women.  We can only imagine what they were thinking as three hundred people clapped just for them, but their beaming smiles gave us an inkling of the happiness and pride they were feeling.

I asked them to remain standing at the front of the room, and to help me welcome the three young people who had won the Seedling College Scholarships for 2011 and there couldn’t have been a better welcoming committee for them.  Our 2011 graduates greeted the 2011 recipients with warmth and delight.

It would be hard not to be touched by the concrete example of promises made and kept by our Seedling’s Promise Mentors and Mentees.

We are so proud of our Seedling’s Promise students and we hope you enjoy the following!

-Kali’ P. Rourke, Board President

Dear Friends of the Seedling Foundation,

It’s the most wonderful feeling to look out into the faces of all of you who gather today to celebrate the end of another year of volunteering.  I can remember when we first met at your places of employment or at a mentor orientation.  You were excited.  You were eager.  Each of you wanted, above all, to be good at this activity we call “mentoring.”  You did not disappoint us!

Today is all about honoring you, so let me begin by saying how very impressed and thrilled all of us at Seedling have been by the extent to which you have kept and honored the commitment you made to a child. You’ve been consistent with your weekly visits, remembered to call on the occasions when a visit was not possible, attended monthly trainings to expand your knowledge and build your skills.  You’ve truly taken this important responsibility to heart.  Most important of all, you have found your unique way of making an imprint on a child’s heart.  Thank you.

If your mentees could be here today to talk about what has meant the most to them, they would say things like:  “She’s a really good listener.”  “He is someone I can talk to about anything.”  “She always has a smile on her face.” “When he says he is going to do something…he does.”  “She’s always there when I need her.”  I can’t personally imagine more significant endorsements.

To our school partners who make our work possible, we thank you and salute the warm and welcoming environments you create in your schools.  We are grateful that the trust you cultivate makes it possible for us to identify and serve children. Most of all, we thank you for educating our community’s children.

To our loyal supporters.  You are our behind the scenes heroes.  You give generously and often.  You encourage, advocate, and support us publicly and privately.  We hope to always be worthy of your friendship.

Warmest wishes from all of us at Seedling to all of you.  We hope to see you back with us in August.

Sincerely,

Sari Waxler

From – Seedling’s Promise Mentor Minute, May 2011

The month of May brings an air of celebration in our schools.  With most testing dates completed and deadlines met, students have more opportunities for field trips and special events like Track-and-Field Day.  For mentors, May brings a unique set of challenges and opportunities. We at Seedling Foundation want to help you anticipate these issues and provide you with some best practice ideas for making the most of these final few visits for the year.   This month’s Mentor Minute is devoted to responding to special end-of-year thoughts and questions that may cross a mentor’s mind.

My mentee is thrilled about summer, right?

Who wouldn’t be happy about having no homework, sleeping a little later, and playing outside in the sunshine?  But summer may include some other differences for your mentee. You might be surprised by some issues that could result in subtle signs of anxiety in your next few visits.

For many children, school represents a place of predictability and physical and emotional safety, feelings that may be diminished or absent in the three months of summer.  If there is vague talk at home about relocating to a new school or a new city, your mentee may be worried about making new friends and all that is unknown about a new place to live.   Or, little fears about uncertain supervision, or a potential bully at the swimming pool, or the conflict that can arise from crowded or chaotic living arrangements, or even food insecurity may be weighing on his or her mind. Last, in a home with limited resources, a child may be dreading not having enough to do.  How can a mentor help?

A good open-ended question such as “What do you think your summer will be like?”  can open the door.  Use your best active listening skills to watch for small changes in tone, facial expression or body language, and invite your mentee to talk about feelings.

Other questions might be

• How will you spend your time away from school this summer?
• Who will you be with? (How old is your cousin?)
• Is there any part of the summer that you are really looking forward to?
• Is there any part of the summer that you’re worried about?
• Who do you talk to in the summer when something is bothering you?

Talk about qualities in friends who are “good” and friends who are “not so good.”  This conversation may also be an opportunity for personal sharing.  For example, you can let your mentee know the tricks and self-talk you use when faced with inadequate personal space or with inevitable boredom.

Check out the section in this newsletter about end-of-year gifts that may help. Here is a link to the complete Mentor Minute .  And last, if your mentee describes glorious summer plans that make you doubtful, avoid asking for details that can require a child to continue making up facts.  Instead, ask open-ended questions that allow the child to explore the would-be adventure, such as “I wonder…what do you suppose that would be like – to visit Disney World.”

-Sari Waxler, Executive Director

Seedling Foundation was approached by several Austin public school Principals who presented a problem in common to our founder, John Blazier.  They were dealing with students who were across the board in the scope of their problems; discipline referrals, truancy, teen pregnancy and vandalism, and the one thing they all had in common was the prison system.

It had affected their lives dramatically by the removal of one or both parents and when children lose parents to the system, they often lose their homes and much of the stability in their young lives.

There is no identification program in public schools for these children, and they often do not surface as having this tremendous trauma and challenge in their lives until they do something wrong.  Even then, accustomed to hiding this shame as they are, no school official might ever know.  Our challenges were to find them in order to help them, and then to recruit, educate and support mentors who could form long, lasting and constructive relationships.

How could we do this when national mentoring agencies often have challenges identifying these at-risk children?

We turned to the very people who had asked us for help.  Seedling Foundation formed a wonderful partnership with the Austin Independent School District and their Counseling and Parent Support Specialist staff.

In the beginning, the school contacts did most of the identification and referring to Seedling’s Promise but over time the students started self-referring.  They wanted their brothers and sisters and friends in similar situations to have a mentor like theirs.  The program grew by leaps and bounds.

How is Seedling’s Promise a new paradigm?

We focus on the mentors. The students are given mentors through their schools, with the approval of their legal guardians/caregivers, and the relationship looks the same as any other mentoring program in the school…from the student’s side.  If the student does not want to reveal or talk about their situation to their mentor, they do not have to.  However, the mentor is specially trained and more importantly, highly supported in the match and is therefore comfortable with that discussion when it arises.  The mentor is also prepared to handle issues that often arise with children of the incarcerated as their parent(s) deal with the prison system.

A saying you will often hear in this area of mentoring is, “When parents do time, their kids do time with them.”

As you read these blog posts, we hope to give you information you can use and a feel for what a mentor can do for a child.  It is often a life changing experience for both.

-Kali’ P. Rourke, Seedling Foundation Board President

This blog will deal specifically with Seedling’s Promise and will feature posts from members of the Seedling Foundation staff and Board of Directors, as well as articles of interest.

• Our Mission: The Seedling Foundation serves public schools in the Greater Austin area through Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents, Campus Beautification, and College Admissions Preparation and Advising programs.
• Our Vision: The Seedling Foundation envisions communities that wrap their caring and capable arms around their public schools.

Our History:
The Foundation was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1998.  Since that time, we have been known both as the Travis High School Educational Foundation and later as Travis Community Education Foundation, both names reflecting the scope of the organization’s work at a particular time in our history. In the summer of 2007, having touched dozens of schools and several school districts, we formally changed our name to the Seedling Foundation.  Whether a small non-profit with a presence in a handful of schools or a large one with a presence that spans multiple school districts, our model has remained the same;  a group of committed citizens, public corporations and small businesses working collaboratively with schools to build long-term, sustainable partnerships. These partnerships have provided computers, software and training for teachers, new facilities, Internet support, mentoring, major exterior renovations of campuses and a variety of academic enhancement programs for students ranging from math summer camps to paid summer internships in specific career pathways. Working with our school partners, Seedling Foundation has invested millions of dollars in the “Renaissance of Texas Public Schools

In 2009 the Seedling Foundation was awarded the The Independent Charities Seal of Excellence.  This seal is awarded to the members of Independent Charities of America and Local Independent Charities of America that have, upon rigorous independent review, been able to certify, document, and demonstrate on an annual basis that they meet the highest standards of public accountability, program effectiveness, and cost effectiveness.  These standards include those required by the US Government for inclusion in the Combined Federal Campaign, probably the most exclusive fund drive in the world.
Of the 1,000,000 charities operating in the United States today, it is estimated that fewer than 50,000, or 5 percent, meet or exceed these standards, and, of those, fewer than 2,000 have been awarded this Seal.
Our Signature Programs:

Seedling’s Promise: Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents
The Foundation launched its signature Seedling’s Promise mentor program in February 2006, at the request of a group of school principals who were concerned about the ever growing numbers of children affected by the incarceration of one or both of their parents.  The Seedling Foundation recruits volunteers from the community, screens and orients them, and matches them with eligible children.  The mentors are then given ongoing support by Mentor Directors, staff of the Foundation, who have been uniquely trained to serve this population of children and the adults who volunteer to help them.  Seedling’s Promise won the “Outstanding Program of the Year” award from Austin Partners in Education for its 2005-2006 pilot and has grown the program both in numbers and quality in the years which followed.  Learn more about Seedling’s Promise at http://www.seedlingfoundation.net/content/view/35/57/

Seedling Campus Beautification
The Seedling Foundation has used landscaping and exterior improvements for AISD campuses to build community in our public schools. The Foundation crafts three-year plans for the schools we support that are developed with the school leadership, parents and neighborhood representatives.  Read more about Seedling Campus Beautification on our web site at http://www.seedlingfoundation.net/content/view/21/36/

Seedling College Admissions Mentoring Program (CAMP)

CAMP or College Admissions Mentoring Program serves high achieving students in area high schools, preparing them to perform competitively on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT), on their college admissions test (SAT), and to be admitted to the nation’s outstanding colleges and universities.

CAMP serves a new cohort of 25 high school sophomores annually, nominated by their high school principals, and works with them through the spring of their junior year and the completion of their SAT.  Learn more about Seedling CAMP at http://www.seedlingfoundation.net/content/view/26/41/.