Mentor Monthly - April 2021

April 2021

Does Community Service Matter in the

College Admissions Process?

Take some time to talk to your mentee about the importance of volunteering.

To help you mentee find volunteer opportunities near them, try using Volunteer Match.

Click here to visit their website!

A recent survey of college admissions officers found that community service can be a tipping factor when making college admissions decisions. In fact, 53% of those surveyed said that community service can almost be a “tie-breaker” between applicants who are equally qualified. So how is community service viewed in the context of a student’s application, and what can students now to pursue meaningful community service opportunities?

To read more click here

Source: IvyWise

Take Stock in Children

Scholarship & Mentorship Program

The TSIC program is still accepting application from 7th and 8th grade students. The last day to submit an application is May 15th. This is a wonderful scholarship opportunity for deserving students in Hillsborough County - help spread the word!

Students that are admitted into the program will be paired with a volunteer mentor- like yourself- and awarded a Florida Prepaid Scholarship!

Students can apply by clicking here!

MENTOR OF THE MONTH

Jessica Strauss

How did you become involved with mentoring through the Hillsborough Education Foundation?

Information about the program came across my school email. At the time I was teaching elementary and was interested in working with and impacting older students.

What has been the most rewarding part of mentoring?

I love when my mentees reach out to share their successes with me. I love being able to celebrate, plan, and help them pursue their goals.

What do you believe is the key to being a quality mentor?

Consistency is vital to the relationship and the impact you can make with students. Consistency in showing up, in actively listening, and even in searching for opportunities for your mentee.

When you are not working with students, how do you prefer to spend your free time?

I enjoy hiking and rock climbing as well as traveling both domestic and internationally. Trying new restaurants and anything NASA are always a blast!

What do you hope your mentee(s) will learn from you?

I hope my mentees learn confidence in themselves and learn to rely on their own abilities. I also hope they see how helping others is rewarding for both parties.

Interested in Facilitating a Group Session?

The Take Stock Team needs your help! We are looking for volunteers to lead group sessions in April and May for our students.

Each month we offer students in our program the opportunity to attend an educational webinar, which is typically lead by different presenters with a topic of their own. In the past, we have covered different topics to help them gain skills, learn more about college, learn about various careers, and more! All group sessions are conducted via Zoom.

We have students in our program who don’t have mentors, but still need to meet the monthly mentoring requirement. One way for student to fulfil this scholarship requirement is by participating in 2 group sessions each month.

If you are interested and have a topic you would want to share with our students, please let your College Success Coach know or Contact Anna Corman at: acoman@educationfoundation.com.

Mentor Training

We recently conducted two virtual trainings with our friends at Frameworks. If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend those trainings live, you are welcome to watch the recordings.

*Please note, that in order to watch the full videos, you will need to have a free DropBox account – without the free account, you will only see a 5-minute preview.*

To view the trainings, click the links below:

Understanding Social &

Emotional Learning &

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Click Here

Understanding &

Addressing Bullying for Mentors

Click Here

Florida is 2nd in Nation for AP performance, According to New College Board Results

The College Board’s recently released annual Advanced Placement Cohort Data Report finds Florida is #2 in the nation for successful Advanced Placement (AP) performance.

Enrollment in AP courses has continued to expand over the last decade. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 38.3% of U.S. public high school graduates and 56% of Florida public high school graduates took at least one AP exam in 2020. Nearly 10 percentage points higher than the national average, 34.2% of Florida students scored a 3 or higher – second only to Connecticut. Florida’s student success has grown with time — in 2010, 21.6% of Florida AP test-takers scored a 3 or higher.

To read more, click here.

Source: Florida College Access Network

Spending Plans Point to ‘Lean Year' in Higher Ed in Florida

House and Senate budget leaders are eyeing cuts to higher education spending, but early recommendations would go about it in different ways. A Senate budget proposal released last week, for example, calls for a nearly $217 million reduction in spending on the state university system. But as the Senate considers a controversial separate bill (SB 86) that would tie Bright Futures scholarship awards to amounts set aside in the budget, Senate Education Appropriations Chairman Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze, said the proposed spending plan would fully fund the program at more than $651 million. To read more, click here.

Source: News Service of Florida

As Bad Information Spreads,

Florida Schools Seek to Teach ‘Digital Literacy’

Cyber Florida helped set up the cybersecurity program now being taught at many Florida schools. The new project, Cyber Citizenship, is even more ambitious. Separating fact from fiction online is a major challenge for the country as a whole, as evidenced by the swirling claims surrounding last year’s presidential election and the ongoing pandemic. Yet schools nationwide are still trying to figure out how to teach digital skills to a younger generation that increasingly lives, studies and plays online. To read more, click here.

Source: WABE