Every single student in Dublin and Emerald High School is united by one common experience: participation in the Freshman Mentor Program (FMP) in the first year of high school, a formative and oftentimes scary transition period for high school freshmen. The program is designed to smoothen this transition and build a support system for freshmen as they progress from middle to high school. The program has now been in action for more than a decade and has seen tremendous success over the years.
The foundation of the program is dedicated upperclassmen serving as mentors and role models by supporting and guiding freshmen at the start of their high school journey. Though a rewarding experience, this is not always an easy role to fulfill. Indeed, mentors have many responsibilities both in and outside the classroom and must be committed year-long and even during the preceding summer for training. Additionally, because the Freshman Mentor Program is embedded in freshmen’s Health class, mentors need to come in during their Gael period every week. They are even required to attend two trainings every month during lunch to learn how to become an effective mentor.
Nonetheless, the FMP remains a meaningful and fulfilling experience for participating mentors. For any current sophomores and juniors wishing to be among these dedicated mentors next school year, the application for the FMP is currently open until March 8. (For more information about the application, check out this document!)
Application process and timeline (some aspects are different for prospective Emerald High mentors):
- Incoming juniors and seniors fill out the Google Form application by March 8
- In-person interviews take place the week (4/8-4/12) after Spring Break during Gael periods
- The applicant’s past and current teachers provide feedback on the applicant
- Mentors selected and notified in mid-April
- Training begins in May
- Training takes place in the summer as well to get ready for freshman orientations
To gain further insights about the Freshman Mentor Program, I asked Mrs. Joy Sheratt—the FMP coordinator—some questions about being a mentor:
What are the benefits of becoming a FMP mentor?
- Building skills in leading, working with a team towards a goal, conversation skills, and skills on how to build connections to all types of people. The growth of the mentor skills as the year progresses is awesome to watch as a mentor teacher.
What do you look for in a mentor, such as essential skills and personality traits?
- We look for a diverse group of mentors. They each need to be in good academic standing, but that’s not the important skill/trait we need. We are looking for students who authentically want their school community to be a place that is inclusive, fun, and where everyone feels like they have a place to belong. The mentors need to be dedicated and willing to lead and talk with freshmen.
What does a typical day as a mentor look like?
- They will, once a week, lead activities and share what is going on around campus, but also provide guidance and connect with the freshman in ways that make a lifelong difference.
What are support systems in place to support mentors on their journey?
- Our student mentors are trained twice per month throughout the school year to ensure their growth as leaders on campus. In this way, it provides a very unique opportunity for mentor students to truly gain direct leadership experience while leading a full class of at least thirty freshmen at a time, together with their mentor team and under the supervision of a teacher advisor. This program cannot exist without its mentors because the interactions that take place in FMP then pay off doubly by increasing levels of familiarity and connectedness outside of class.
How will the Freshman Mentor Program work with Emerald High planned to open by next school year?
- Next year we will have mentors from Dublin High and Emerald High School, but the Dublin High mentors will only be on the Dublin High campus only. The Emerald High mentors will be the current EHS freshmen, and as sophomores, they will be mentoring the new incoming freshmen to Emerald High School.
Once again, for those interested in becoming a mentor, check out this document to access the application forms and more information!
