Chicago: Become a Mentor at Young Women's Leadership Charter School!
Skee OuiZy
Greetings!
We hope this letter reaches you in good health and spirits. Young Women's Leadership Charter School (YWLCS) is Chicago's only all-girls charter high school and we are committed to developing our young women into future leaders.
Our mentor program (YW Mentoring) was created to provide additional, individualized support for our students’ personal, academic, and professional growth and development, ultimately culminating in college readiness, college success, and career preparation. We are writing to invite you to become a mentor for the 2016-17 school year!
Those who apply and are accepted as mentors will be paired with one of our 10th grade students to provide this individualized support. The program will be a combination of school-organized gatherings for mentors-mentees and individual, independently organized meetings between mentors and mentees. Below is a list of requirements for those interested in applying to be mentors:
Mentor Requirements
Full participation on behalf of both mentors and mentees is critical to successfully building a relationship and achieving student growth. Barring unforeseen circumstances, attendance at all events and monthly conversations are expected. Mentors must:
- Be a female college graduate with the expectation and focus that our students will get admitted to and complete college.
- Participate in the program for at least one calendar year (January 2016 – January 2017).
- Attend site-based meetings with mentees at YWLCS where applicable.
- Communicate with mentees at least one times each month either in person, by phone, or by email. All email communications should be copied to ywlcsm...@ywlcs.org.
- Communicate with the ywlcsm...@ywlcs.org email if any challenges with mentees arise.
- Allow for open communication between mentor and the family of your mentee where applicable.
- Attend the Mentor Orientation Meeting on Wednesday, January 27, 2016, from 5-7 pm at YWLCS.
- Complete a required Department of Children and Family Services background check (see attached).
Next Steps
- If you or a friend/colleague is interested in participating, please complete the attached application and background check and submit them to ywlcsm...@ywlcs.org by Wednesday, January 13, 2016.
- Mark your calendars for a mentoring orientation meeting on Wednesday, January 27, 2016, from 5-7 pm at YWLCS (2641 S. Calumet Avenue).
More details about the exact dates of events during the 2015-16 school year will be available at the January 27 meeting. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at ywlcsm...@ywlcs.org.
If you find that you are unable or unavailable to serve as a mentor at this time, please recommend another professional woman in your field who may be interested in serving in your stead.
Thank you in advance for your consideration. Most importantly, thank you for your dedication to our young women!
Sincerely,
YW Mentoring Team