Results

Teen Trendsetters™ Reading Mentors by the numbers

  • Participating teens report that their involvement in Teen Trendsetters™ Reading Mentors has been an asset when applying for college
  • The program has a more than 90-percent retention rate
  • 99-percent of programs have returned for the 2007-2008 school year

Testimonials

A teacher in Citrus County was quoted as saying… ”My students came back (from their subsequent session) all excited. I think this is a good experience for them. So many times, as TA’s, the teacher will ask the elementary student just to read to the high schooler, but they don’t have time for interaction. This is fun for both young and old.”

  • As the buzz about Teen Trendsetters™ grows, so do the numbers in Nassau County. The number of mentees in Nassau County has almost doubled recently, and thanks to the recruiting efforts of the amazing Leads at Fernandina Beach High School and West Nassau High School, they have a mentor for each of the new elementary students.

Supporting Image

From the panhandle, a teacher was quoted as saying…” This is such a great program…The kids are so excited about their animal materials.”

From the Teens

“I am so happy that I signed up to do Teen Trendsetters™ this year. Meeting my reader, making a new friend and learning so much about her has been fun. She loves to read, she loves getting to write her answers, get the stickers and chat with each other every Monday. She hugs me every time before we say good bye and she runs up to me when she first comes in the room. I love my little reader.”

“I really enjoy spending time with my mentee and helping him with his reading comprehension. I feel that from when we started to now, he has improved greatly. I think that Teen Trendsetters™ is a very good program and I will definitely continue doing it as long as possible.”

“I’ve really enjoyed participating in Teen Trendsetters™. Hailey, my mentee, has improved a lot over the past seven weeks. At first she had a really hard time understanding what she had just read, but her comprehension has definitely gotten better. I’ve also learned a lot from Teen Trendsetters™. I’ve learned to be more patient and to understand that some people don’t understand things as quickly as others. I will definitely take part in Teen Trendsetters™ next year!”

  • The Columbia School District was featured in the Lake City Reporter on Saturday, February 3, 2007 for its three mentoring programs, including Teen Trendsetters™, and as a part of National Mentoring Month. Columbia County has active TTRM programs at Columbia High School and Fort White High School.
  • In Alachua County, a TTRM program faced with some distracted elementary students came up with an innovative way to play musical chairs. After a few minutes with their own mentor, each elementary student would rotate to a different mentor and with each mentor would read for a few minutes. Way to go Alachua County, great idea!

Supporting Research

  • Youth who have mentors are:
    • 52% less likely to skip school
    • 33% less likely to engage in a fight
    • 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
    • 27% less likely to begin drinking alcohol
  • Evaluations of cross-peer learning efforts have consistently shown that programs typically produce significant academic and interpersonal growth among both older and younger participants in a wide range of subjects (Goodlad & Hirst, 1989; Kalkkowski, 1995).
  • Research has shown that older students typically gain as much or more than their younger partners, both academically and socially (Strayhorn, Strain, & Walker, 1993).