Research shows that students with higher moral emotions, such as empathy and sympathy, are less likely to victimize other students and more likely to defend their peers who are being victimized. Our mentors will focus on engaging activities to strengthen empathy and sympathy.

Students who feel more connected to their peers, school, and the community perform better academically. Our mentors will focus on ways to help students feel a sense of belonging among their peers, school, and community.

Students with high academic self-efficacy are life-long learners: they seek out challenging learning material, believe in their academic ability, and show resiliency when tackling tough academic objectives. Self-efficacy can be increased through positive academic experiences and peer academic encouragement. Our mentors will encourage students to believe in themselves academically and to encourage their peers in the classroom.

Adolescents are increasingly concerned with trying out different identities and determining who they are. Our mentors will not encourage students to adopt a certain identity, but will instead support their identity development by helping them identify what their values are and how they fit into their daily lives.

Creativity and problem-solving are important skills for students to develop. Mentors will encourage the students to identify issues important to them within their school and brainstorm ways to address them. Mentors will work with students on supporting, developing, and implementing the students’ ideas.