Start a mentorship program.
Match students at your school with adult mentors from your town: who to ask first, how to keep it safe, how the program should work, and how to find the mentors.
Let's startThis guide is for the bigger version: a program at your school that matches students with adult mentors, people with real careers who meet with a student through the school year.
Picking up where you left off.
Pick your school and we'll look up your counselors, your principal and the district office that handles volunteers. Their names go straight into the emails below.
School not in the list (middle school, private, outside the US)?
Mentors are adults meeting with students, so the school needs someone on staff who owns the program: they handle the permission slips, the room, the district's volunteer rules, and they're who a mentor or a parent calls. Ask the adult who already knows you. A counselor is a natural fit, but a teacher you trust works just as well.
Ask in person first, right after class or during their office hours. Then send the email so they have it in writing.
Thirty seconds, in person
Hi [teacher's name], do you have a minute? I want to start a mentorship program here, matching students with adult mentors from [your city]. I'd need a staff sponsor, and you're the first person I thought of. Could I tell you about it this week?
Email — Could you help me start a mentorship program?
Hi [teacher's name], I'd like to start a program at [school name] that matches students with adult mentors from [your city]: people with real careers who meet with a student through the school year. A lot of students don't have an adult outside their family to ask about classes, college or jobs. I'll do the legwork: finding mentors, matching students and scheduling. But a program like this needs someone on staff to sponsor it, and you're the first person I thought of. Could we talk for 15 minutes this week? Thank you, [your name] A student at [school name]
What did they say?
This is the part principals worry about, so walk in already knowing it. Every district has its own volunteer policy, and the answers below are what to look for in yours.
A Background checks
Most districts sort volunteers into tiers by how much time they spend with students without staff around:
- No contact with students (fixing the garden, sorting donations). Usually no check.
- With students, but with staff in the room. Usually a sex offender registry check and a form.
- Alone with students. Fingerprints and a state and FBI criminal check, done before they start. Mentors usually land here, and some districts name mentors in this tier outright.
Fingerprinting often has a fee and can take a few weeks, so ask early who pays. One way to keep mentors in a lighter tier: have them meet students only in a supervised group setting, like a library during lunch with your sponsor in the room. Ask your district whether that counts.
Tiers vary by district; Miller County, Georgia's is a typical example, and names mentors in its fingerprinted tier. National mentoring standards (MENTOR's Elements of Effective Practice) recommend an FBI fingerprint check, references and an interview for every mentor.
B Mandated reporter training
Teachers, counselors and school staff are mandated reporters in every state: if a student tells them about abuse or neglect, they have to report it. In about 18 states and Puerto Rico, every adult is. Even where mentors aren't legally required to report, they should get the training, and many districts require it for volunteers.
- What mentors learn: what to do if a student tells them something serious, who to tell (your sponsor, then the authorities), and never to promise to keep a secret.
- Where to get it: most states run a free online course for mandated reporters. Your district may have its own.
- When: before the first meeting with a student, along with the program's own training. The national standard is at least two hours of training before mentors are matched.
C The rules every good program uses
- Meet at school or in public, at program times. No rides, no one-on-one hangouts off campus.
- Talk through school channels. Messages go through a school platform or copy the sponsor, never private DMs.
- A parent or guardian signs off before a student is matched.
- Two adults for anything off campus, like a workplace visit, plus a permission slip.
- A written agreement mentors sign: how often they meet, for how long, and these rules.
Find your district's rules
Check these off as you find the answers. Your sponsor can usually get them in one email.
Or send this to the district office that handles volunteers (copy your sponsor):
Email — Volunteer rules for a student mentoring program at [school name]
Dear [Volunteer coordinator's name], I'm a student at [school name], and I'm working with [your sponsor's name] to start a program that matches students with adult mentors from [your city]. Before we recruit anyone, we want to follow the district's volunteer rules exactly. Could you tell us: 1. Which volunteer level mentors need, and whether meeting students only in a supervised group at school changes that? 2. What the background check involves, what it costs, who pays, and how long it takes? 3. What training volunteers need, including mandated reporter training? 4. Whether the district has a standard parent permission form we should use? Thank you, [your name] A student at [school name]
Find their email on the district's volunteer page.
What the research agrees on
- Commit to a full school year. In Big Brothers Big Sisters matches, students whose mentors stuck around a year or more improved the most, and matches that ended within a few months could leave students worse off (Grossman & Rhodes, 2002).
- Closeness is the point. Across 55 evaluations, mentoring helped the average student a modest amount, and more when mentor and student built a strong relationship (DuBois et al., 2002).
- Adults, not older students, for this kind of program. In the big study of school-based mentoring, high school students were much less effective mentors than adults (Herrera et al., 2007). Peer mentoring is great for other things: that's the Doorstop Club.
Pick a model
Start small. Ten to twenty students is a great first year, and it's how you prove it works.
What do students want in a mentor?
Tap the fields students care about most. They steer the mentor search and how you match people. Skip it if you'd rather match by personality.
Ask your principal
Once your sponsor is on board and you know the rules, ask for a meeting. Keep the email short; the details are for the meeting.
Email — A mentorship program at [school name]?
Dear [Principal's name], I'm [your name], a student at [school name]. With [your sponsor's name]'s help, I'd like to start a program that matches students with adult mentors from [your city]. We'd follow the district's volunteer rules: a background check and mandated reporter training for every mentor, meetings only at school or at supervised events, and a parent's permission for every student. Could I have 30 minutes with you and [your sponsor's name] in the next couple of weeks to discuss? Thank you, [your name] A student at [school name]
Find their email on your school's staff directory.
Rule of thumb: one mentor per student (one per three for project teams), plus about a third more, since some people drop out during the background check. Pick a model and a group size in step 4 and we'll do the math.
Ask four ways at once. Teachers and parents know people who'd be great. Local professionals and alumni are where you find mentors in the fields students care about.
A Ask teachers to forward it to their network
Every teacher knows a nurse, an engineer, a former student who started a business. Ask your sponsor to send this to the whole staff list. A forwardable note means they only have to hit forward.
Email to teachers — ask your sponsor to send it to the staff list
Hi everyone, I'm a student starting a mentorship program at [school name] with [your sponsor's name], matching students with adult mentors from [your city]. Could you forward the note below to one or two people you know who'd be great with a teenager? Friends, family, former students, anyone. ---- Hi! [school name] is starting a mentorship program, and we're looking for adults who'd mentor a high school student through the school year. Mentors get a background check and a short training first. If you'd be up for it, email [your email] and a student will follow up. ---- Thank you! [your name]
B Ask parents and local groups
Make a quick sign-up form (name, job, email, when they're free), then get the message below out every way you can:
- The principal's weekly email or newsletter, and the PTA or parent group.
- Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions and the chamber of commerce. Their members are local professionals who sign up to volunteer, and one email reaches dozens.
- Big employers near you. Hospitals, universities, banks and big companies often give staff paid volunteer hours. Ask their community relations office.
- Your school's alumni association, foundation or alumni Facebook group.
Message for parents and local groups — newsletter, email or group chat
Parents, families and neighbors of [school name]: students are starting a mentorship program, and we're looking for adults who'd mentor a high school student through the school year. You don't need to be an expert. Mentors just need to show up, listen, and share what they know about their work and how they got there. Every mentor gets a background check and a short training first. Students whose mentors stick with them for a full year or more get the most out of it, so we're asking for a school-year commitment. Sign up here: [mentor sign-up form link] Thank you! [your name], [school name] student
C Find local people and alumni
Each search adds ten more people who already volunteer, coach or mentor near you. Everyone you ask, from anywhere, lives in this one list, with their status.
D The invite email
Every row in the list has its own invite, already filled in with what they do. This is the blank version, for anyone else. No answer in a week? Send one short follow-up.
Email — Would you mentor a [school name] student this year?
Hi [name], I'm a student at [school name] in [your city], and I'm starting a mentorship program with [your sponsor's name]. I came across [how you found them: a teacher, an article, their website], and I think you'd be a great mentor for a student who wants to [what they do]. What it would involve: - Meeting your student [how often and where] - A background check and a short training before you start, which the school sets up - Nothing to prepare: just showing up and being honest about your work and how you got there Students whose mentors stick with them for a full year or more get the most out of it, which is why we're asking for the whole school year. Would you be up for it? Happy to answer any questions. Thank you, [your name] A student at [school name]
We're building a list of adults we've vetted in each area, people who've already mentored students and passed a background check, so no school has to start from zero. We don't have anyone listed near your area yet.
Know someone who'd be a great mentor near you? Tell us about them.
Want a hand getting it off the ground?
A Doorstop Session is us working with you and your friends to plan your program and get it running.
- Rehearse the conversation with your teacher or counselor
- Read your district's volunteer policy with you and work out the safety plan
- Pick the model that fits your school, and plan the first meeting
- Find mentors in the fields your students care about
Free for public schools.
Rather write to us first? Send this and a person will reply.
Email — Student at [school name] — help starting a mentorship program
Hi Ben, I'm a student at [school name], and I'm starting a mentorship program. I need help with [finding a sponsor / the background check rules / picking a model / finding mentors / something else]. So far I've [what you've already done]. Thanks, [your name]
Want more help?
We can work with you directly to make it happen.
Email — Student at [school name] — help starting a mentorship program
Hi Ben, I'm a student at [school name], and I'm starting a mentorship program. I need help with [finding a sponsor / the background check rules / picking a model / finding mentors / something else]. So far I've [what you've already done]. Thanks, [your name]