Building a Broader Coalition of Caring Adults

By Jason Cascarino

The themes radiating from Don’t Quit on Me have a special resonance with those of us working with young adolescents in the middle grades. Youth in this period go through natural developmental changes that can make it hard for them to stay on track, even if they had been doing well earlier. That’s regardless of which side of the opportunity gap they’re currently on, although youth with fewer supports have greater hurdles. And it’s not just because the academics have become harder.

Young people at this age are trying to carve out their own identity and find their place in the world. They are motivated more by relationships, while also navigating more complex social exchanges.

And they are beginning to think longer term, contemplating what they could become as adults, what their futures will be. All of this goes on as they prepare, intentionally or not, for one of the hardest schooling transitions they will ever face: going to high school.

A recent report from The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research identified the development of “group identity” — forged through relationships — and “mindsets” — “beliefs and attitudes about oneself, the external world, and the interaction between the two” — as the most critical success factors for early adolescents. In addition to acknowledging and demonstrating that these matter, we need to employ specific strategies that help young people develop such capacities. Thus the importance of the Don’t Quit on Me call to action.

Put simply, positive relationships show real promise and power to influence the trajectories of young adolescents.

Meaningful mentoring opportunities, structured around the specific needs of young people, can play a role in their success in school and in life, especially at this challenging age.

How can we foster such relationships at scale?

For one, we can activate private and public sector organizations. Ripe with working professionals from a variety of industries, today’s workforce can give back through mentoring and bring more of the much-needed support to young people that is crucial for academic and social success. Evidence shows that Millennials especially are looking for ways to create value over and above their work and to engage more with their community. They also feel more committed to their employers and engaged in their work when offered such opportunities to serve.

Spark’s mentoring program brings these caring adults from the workforce into the lives of underserved middle grades students. Our program pairs students one-on-one with engaging mentors in exciting workplaces to collaborate on meaningful project-based learning apprenticeships and develop success skills like teamwork, time management and goal setting. Thanks to the engagement of thousands of volunteer mentors from big companies like Google, LinkedIn, HBO, Deloitte, Cornerstone OnDemand, and Wells Fargo, and nonprofits like Teach for America, University of Pennsylvania, and PBS affiliate WHYY, and public agencies like the City of Philadelphia, and hundreds of other organizations, caring adults are becoming part of the solution.

We know this approach is working because Spark students improve in their grades, attendance and classroom behavior, they enter high school more highly prepared than their peers, and greater than 90 percent have graduated or are on-track to graduate on-time, compared to an average of 68 percent in the communities we serve. And then there is the individual impact that numbers can’t show.

Students like Ahtavia tell us, “One important thing I learned is that you should always keep your head up. I thank my mentor for teaching me about being an interior designer, and being myself.”

Like GradNation, America’s Promise Alliance, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership and others, we believe that mentoring is a large part of the solution. And for students in the middle grades, who need the type of learning experience workplace-based mentoring offers, it is an essential one. Mobilizing companies and organizations to encourage employees to volunteer as mentors will bring thousands more caring adults into the lives of young people at a pivotal inflection point.

Programs like Spark can be conduits for that larger scale commitment. We can bring more human resources to bear on the graduation challenge. We can help build Webs of Support. We can build a broader coalition of caring adults who won’t quit on our young people.

Jason Cascarino is the CEO at Spark Program, an organization that helps underserved youth become motivated learners and connected community members, and by encouraging adults to nurture the next generation through mentoring and volunteerism.

Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonCascarino.