Creating a mentoring culture in Newark schools 
|Opinion 
Updated: Sep. 21, 2024, 7:43 a.m.  Published: Sep. 21, 2024, 7:30 a.m.

As a new school year starts, it’s important to remember the investments that are made to help young people succeed and ask ourselves what more can be done to help them reach their potential. We see the impact every day that teachers, administrators and staff are having on our youth.

​

We all have a responsibility to help the next generation succeed, and we can invest in their future through mentoring. The Newark Board of Education (NBOE) is on a mission to improve outcomes for our youth. That is why we are helping connect potential mentors in the community with young people through a new position that’s a first of its kind at a school district in New Jersey: Director of Mentoring Services.

​

The NBOE and MENTOR Newark, the New Jersey affiliate of MENTOR, have been working together since 2020 to build a sustainable culture of mentoring across many Newark high schools. To date, we have reached more than 500 students and seen firsthand the kind of impact mentoring can have on our youth. After completing a meaningful mentorship with equity trading firm Trillium, a Science Park High School mentee shared that the mentorship experience provided an outlet to learn new things and discover what you really like to do.

​

Thanks to the support of a grant from the office of U.S. Senator Cory Booker, we were able to take this major first step and invest in creating a dedicated position that will expand and strengthen the mentoring opportunities that are available across Newark schools. An outstanding person was selected for the job of Director of Mentoring Services at the NBOE: Jermaine Blount, who has worked in education for 28 years, serving as a dedicated school principal and teacher. Jermaine’s life was positively impacted in high school when he found mentors in caring teachers, college and career readiness programs, and volunteer attorneys.

​

Building upon the foundation of mentorship programs that NBOE and MENTOR Newark have established over the four last years, Jermaine will continue to help improve the quality of life in Newark in his role as Director of Mentoring Services. He will continue to establish a solid infrastructure by ensuring the implementation of the national mentoring standards, and making mentoring more accessible through innovative tools like the only national mentoring database, Mentoring Connector, and the digital mentoring app, Backrs.

​

The Director of Mentoring Services will allow us to connect more students with community and business partners who will expose our young people to real-world experiences, ensuring they are college and career ready. He will identify gaps and implement best practices for individual, peer-to-peer, and group mentorship programs. He is committed to helping teachers, parents, professionals and community members become better mentors by providing mentorship professional development opportunities, among other initiatives.

​

While it will take time to continue building the infrastructure and shifting toward a mentoring culture, this new position will help foster human connection, connecting the community, schools and our students.

​

We are breaking new ground here in New Jersey, but we already know there is a roadmap for success. There are only a few other people in the nation with a job like Jermaine’s from school districts in Maryland and California. There are so many moving stories about how mentoring changes young people’s lives, and having a Director of Mentoring Services only helps strengthen that impact. As the Superintendent of the NBOE and Executive Director of MENTOR Newark, it is our hope that the Director of Mentoring Services will not only be a success in Newark, but also serve as a model for other districts across New Jersey.

​

While Jermaine has transformational work ahead, he can’t accomplish his goals alone. It will take all of us working together beyond the classroom to help students navigate challenges in order to pursue their dreams. We can all serve as mentors – whether you are a teacher, professional, volunteer, neighbor or friend. Do your part today: visit Mentoring Connector to learn how you or someone you know can become a mentor and help a young person in your community reach their true potential.

​

Roger León is the Superintendent of Newark Public Schools and Thomas Owens is the Executive Director of MENTOR Newark.