“I've been teaching at this school for years. I thought this was an unknown neighborhood – but there are people out there who care… I'm overwhelmed with gratitude at the number of people here today.”
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Mentors
Research shows the importance of caring adults in the lives of young people. Caring adults provide a protective factor for youth in high risk settings—just as persistent, caring relationships are fundamental to student learning. As a mentor, you can be one of those caring adults for a student.
Activities
Mentoring for Success is a collaborative effort between the San Francisco Education Fund and the SFUSD School Health Programs Department that pairs caring adults with students. As a mentor, you meet with your mentee once a week for about an hour, likely during lunch, and do activities to build a personal relationship and enhance their school and life skills. Monthly Student Mentor Program group activities bring all mentors and mentees together for fun team-building activities and field trips.
Commitment/Days and Times
Minimum commitment time for Mentors is one school-hour a week for a year.
Training and Clearance Needed
Orientation
Every new volunteer attends a two-hour orientation to learn the roles and responsibilities of volunteers in the San Francisco Unified School District. Volunteers meet with our staff to discuss their interests and skills in order to find a placement that best fits them.
Mentor-specific Trainings
Mentors must also attend two specialized trainings after general orientation. The first, a best practices training, delves deeper into the roles and responsibilities of a mentor, addressing how to build a relationship with your mentee, set boundaries, and find discussion topics and activity ideas. The second training is designed to answer questions that may have arisen in the first few weeks of service.
Application Packet
Volunteers must submit a completed volunteer packet containing the following documents:Fingerprinting
The full cost for background clearance is $73.00 per person, and we ask every School Volunteers applicant to cover this cost through a donation to the San Francisco Education Fund. If you are able to contribute more than $73.00, your contribution will directly support the School Volunteers program, enabling us to extend this program to more students, teachers, schools, and volunteers.
The San Francisco Education Fund is committed to engaging the community in our city’s public schools, and we believe that everyone, regardless of means, should be able to volunteer in schools. As a result, the Education Fund raises funds for scholarships to off-set the cost of volunteer clearance for individuals who can’t afford to pay the full cost. If your current financial situation prevents you from paying the full $73.00, we ask that you contribute as much as you can, and we require all School Volunteers applicants to pay at least a small amount to demonstrate their commitment to volunteering. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please complete the scholarship form and bring it with you to orientation.