About Mentors

The relationship between mentor and mentee is at the heart of the mentoring program. Students applying to the program answer questions about their interests and goals, meet at least once with the program director, and submit teacher recommendations. Sometimes, the student's family also meets with the director, to find out about the program and discuss their child's needs. Once a child is admitted to the program, the director taps resources throughout the school to find a mentor with similar interests and overall compatibility. The mentor—always a Needham High staff member—commits to meeting with his or her mentee at least one hour a week, attending scheduled events throughout the year, and mentoring that student until he or she graduates.

The matching process can be lengthy and time-consuming, but program director Tom Denton feels it is time well-spent. "We really have only one shot at making these matches work, because if the relationship fails, students can become disillusioned with the entire program. The more I can get to know both mentor and mentee, the higher our chances of success," he says.

“I worry that students in our program walk the halls of NHS and see so many students wearing the right clothes, or new shoes, or wearing expensive jewelry and assume that is the norm, and they have no chance to fit in with these peers. Steps to Success can validate these students and help them combat their self-preservation technique of ‘staying invisible’ in our school.”

Needham Steps Up Mentor

“I was surprised by the impact the mentoring program had on students, which was evident in the little things. One of my mentees would tell his teachers, ‘If Mr. C. is not coming tomorrow, I’m not coming to school.’ I was amazed by the fact that just my being there made it worth it for my mentee to come to school.

"Activities we did together? We’d play basketball, go to basketball games, go shoe shopping, go for food after school, or have pizza parties with other mentors and mentees. With one of the first mentees I had, we’d often go for a haircut and then a burger. Looking good was important to him. There was no one at home to do that for him, so I made it happen.

"These are just typical kids, they’re no different from other kids at the school, except they’re coming from less affluence. As a mentor, you have to be there for them as a guide, to keep them going in the right direction. Joke around, have fun, don’t take it too seriously, and you’ll become someone they can trust and come to with their problems.

"The community can help by continuing to fund this program. People need to understand that these are just kids: they need a guide in their life, they need a friend in their life. By helping this program out, the community is helping us give kids the things they would want their own kids to have.”

Mentors and Mentees: The Matching Process

Voice of a Mentor