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e-Mentoring

The linkage that develops between a SMART Partnership school and its business/community partners is focused on academic achievement via a problem based learning approach. However, these partnerships provide a golden opportunity to engage and support students in additional ways through the establishment of a mentoring program. Several SMART business partners have expressed interest in the integration of mentoring with their SMART school partners and the process is underway for building this element into the SMART Partnership repertoire.

Currently a variety of mentoring and e-mentoring programs are being reviewed by the Project Manager and members of the SMART Curriculum Committee for applicability and appropriateness within the structure of the SMART Partnership. At this time, the e-Mentoring model developed and promoted by Achieve! Minneapolis© appears to be the most adaptable to and compatible with the structure of the SMART Partnership at the state and local level. Particularly, it is the balance of online and face to face mentoring elements that make this option attractive. Review and research will continue and once a final model is selected/developed, the process will be tested in those SMART Partnership schools and businesses willing to pilot test the model.

The implementation of an e-mentoring process will be optional to each school in the partnership and will require a significant commitment of time and local resources. e-mentoring is a relatively new and emerging option for supporting students and there is very little research available at this time on its effectiveness and impact. However, initial indications are very positive and if the model proves as effective as face to face mentoring programs, the prospects are bright. This dearth of research also means that grant or project funding might be available for programs like SMART willing to develop a program and participate in impact research and evaluation.