Offers program design, tools, and resources that can be used to establish a peer mentoring program.
The overall program design is conceptualized as a coordinated network, led by a Mentor Coordinator and supported by the adult education programs’ designated staff where well-trained mentors serve as role models and provide information and guidance during adult students’ transition to college through their first semester. The program design can also be adopted by an independent adult education program and a designated staff person can serve in the Mentor Coordinator role.
In continuing NCTN’s commitment to best meet the needs of adult students, this Toolkit was the core of the Adult College Engagement peer mentoring project and changes to the processes and tools have been made based on the lessons learned from the program implementation and feedback from program staff and the participating mentors and mentees.
This Toolkit is divided into four modules:
-Recruitment and screening;
-Matching and training;
-Monitoring and support; and
-Closure and evaluation.
Each of these modules provides an overview of the process to ensure a high quality mentoring program. Every module also includes a variety of resources to be utilized in program implementation. The forms provided in the modules are standardized to ensure consistency. We have adopted and customized existing resources from MENTOR, previous and current World Education projects, and additional mentoring publications to develop distinct yet aligned trainings and support materials for program staff, potential mentors, and mentees in this comprehensive – grounded in research and best practice – Mentoring Toolkit.
The Mentoring Toolkit was developed by the National College Transition Network (NCTN) with support from State Street Foundation and Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation. The Toolkit