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“I was taught that the world had a lot of problems; that I could struggle and change them; that intellectual and material gifts brought the privilege and responsibility of sharing with others less fortunate; and that service is the rent each of us pays for living -- the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your personal goals.”  Marian Wright Edelman


​GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL PATRIOT PAIRS MENTORING PROGRAM


In addition to better school attendance and a better chance of going on to higher education, mentored youth maintain better attitudes toward school. (The Role of Risk, 2013)

Our First Group of Graduating Seniors. We are so proud!


​Watch The DPS Video About Our Program! ​Click HERE


​The Patriot Pairs Mentoring Program is an important way in which George Washington High School is addressing the achievement gap and helping struggling students. Mentors meet with incoming freshmen once each week during first period and help the students adjust to high school by helping them with homework, working with them on study skills, fostering good attendance and study habits, and providing encouragement and accountability. All mentors, as well as the coordinator of the program, are volunteers and most work full time in jobs unrelated to education. 

Mentors:
  • Attend a training program at the beginning of the school year
  • Meet with their students once per week at 7:30 am during first period (convenient for those who work)
  • May attend monthly evening training and support meetings

Mentees:
  • Meet with their mentors once per week
  • Work hard and try their best

George Washington High School:
  • Provides excellent access for mentors and mentees to counselors, tutors, administrative staff, and other support
  • Encourages teachers to work with their students’ mentors to achieve academic success

​​​DOES MENTORING WORK?​

​​​President Obama and NBA MVP Stephen Curry Think So! Watch this public service announcement (click HERE) made to inspire people to volunteer to mentor low income youth.  President Obama has partnered with MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership, on whose  database the Patriot Pairs is included.

Hip Hop Artist Killer Mike Thinks So! Watch this video of a Stephen Colbert interview with Killer Mike to learn why, according to Killer Mike, what we are doing in our mentoring program is the most productive action we can take to help our country repair its racial divide.  Click HERE.

MENTOR, The National Mentoring Partnership Thinks So!  According to MENTOR, young adults who were at risk for falling off track but had a mentor are:
  • 55% more likely to enroll in college
  • 78% more likely to volunteer regularly
  • 90% are interested in becoming a mentor
  • 30% more likely to hold leadership positions
and, according to MENTOR:
  • ​Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class.
  • Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking.
  • 76% of at-risk young adults who had a mentor aspire to enroll in and graduate from college versus half of at-risk young adults who had no mentor.  They are also more likely to be enrolled in college.
  • Mentoring reduces “depressive symptoms” and increases “social acceptance, academic attitudes and grades
CLICK HERE TO READ OUR 2019 YEAR-END NEWSLETTER
CLICK HERE TO READ OUR NEWSLETTERS FROM PRIOR YEARS (AND SEE OUR PROGRAM'S EVOLUTION)

​What is an Academic Mentor?

The Patriot Pairs Mentoring Program is an academic mentoring program. By caring about our mentees and how they do in school; modeling appropriate and effective behavior; coaching them about how to approach schoolwork, teachers, counselors and life; connecting them with needed resources; building up their self-esteem; encouraging them to get involved in GW activities; helping them learn how to address hurdles; and encouraging them and holding them accountable, we help our mentees discover and achieve their academic and other goals. We are not a community based kind of program. Some Patriot Pairs mentors schedule outings with their mentees outside of school from time to time, for example, getting lunch, going to a museum or attending a sporting event, but we are primarily a school-based program. While it is critical to get to know and bond with our mentees, which requires, over time, listening to and understanding their non-school concerns (such as family issues, drug and alcohol issues, peer problems, living situation concerns, etc.), our primary focus is on how to help our mentees succeed at school, graduate from high school and enroll in college or another post-secondary pathway.

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to the George Washington High School Patriot Pairs Mentoring Program, please click on the Donate Here button below. Under Donation Details, click on the drop down arrow where it says Nonprofit's Discretion and then click on Program. Click on the drop down arrow where it says Any Program. Then scroll down and click on Patriot Pairs Mentoring Program. All of this clicking is necessary because George Washington Patriots Care, GW's associated nonprofit, handles our funds so that you can have a tax deduction for your contribution. Thanks Patriots Care!