Dynamic Duos

Abstract

How can mentors maximize their positive relationships with “at-risk” youth? Youth mentoring program evaluations at the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen Metro (BGCMM) yield a framework that illuminates the content of relating inside mentoring relationships. The mentoring model identified is established primarily by qualitative methods with a phenomenological approach and supported by young adult alumni findings from a Harris Poll Interactive Survey. The case review of mentoring program evaluations is significant in that it fills a gap in the mentoring literature regarding the content of mentor-mentee relating. The summary of evaluation findings is also important because the inquiry occurs with 98 percent Latino youth population between the ages of 8 and 17. (The regional success of youth mentoring programs is meaningful to the nation in large part because South Texas is the one location where Latinos comprise a demographic majority). Given the academic achievement gap of Latino students, nationally with Latino high school drop-out rates approaching 50 percent and the overrepresentation of minority populations incarcerated, this simple replicable strategy for the successful mentoring program design and evaluation is timely. The interactionist sociological analysis examines what happens inside the mentor-mentee relationship as it is perceived to be impactful by the youth themselves with their definitions. The mentoring model informed by the case review is a practical tool in planning, implementing, and facilitating effective dyads between mentor and mentee that can inform mentor training and program evaluations.