Peer mentor training

Click through together on a projector, or go through on your own before training day. The tabs are the agenda.

Part 1 · 8 min

Be a guide, not a tutor

You’re not their tutor, their therapist or their parent. Your job is to provide support and guidance.

You’ve been in their shoes, and you can help them succeed.

Activity: each mentor tells the group one thing they wish they’d known in ninth grade.

Part 2 · 8 min

Show up, every week

Same time, same place, all year. If you can’t make it, tell your club leader or advisor ahead of time.

Each meeting runs the same way: a quick check-in, one topic, then something fun.

Activity: pairs plan their first meeting, using the sample meetings.

Part 3 · 15 min

Listen more than you talk

Ask open questions, name the feeling you hear, and sit with silence. Help your mentee find their own answer instead of handing them yours.

Practice: talk with a mentee who won’t say what’s wrong. They open up when you listen well. More on each move in Listen like a hostage negotiator.

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Part 4 · 10 min

Keep things private, within limits

What a mentee tells you stays between you, which is harder when you share a school and friends. Tell your advisor if:

Someone is hurting them, or they’re not safe at home.
They might hurt themselves.
They might hurt someone else.

You don’t have to fix it. Your job is to get an adult.

Part 5 · 8 min

Boundaries

If your mentee asks you to do their essay “just this once,” say no, and offer to sit with them while they start it.

Part 6 · 8 min

Plan the goodbye, then sign

Put the last meeting on the calendar now, and make it a celebration. A match that fades into silence can leave a freshman worse off than no match at all. If you ever have to stop, tell your advisor first.

Activity: everyone signs the mentor agreement.

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Sources: MENTOR, Peer Mentoring Supplement, 2020; Herrera et al., 2008; Listen like a hostage negotiator.