By: Cassidy Delamarter, USF College of Education
A new initiative led by the University of South Florida College of Education’s Institute of School-Community Partnerships is bringing evidence-based mentoring services to elementary students in Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Project MENTOR is funded by the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County and was developed in partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools to address a need identified by schools themselves: additional mentoring support for students who could benefit from having another caring, consistent adult in their corner.
Since its launch in January, the mentors in the program have worked with nearly 200 students. With funding awarded on an annual basis, the project is anticipated to continue through September 2030. The total anticipated funding is approximately $1.2 million over the five-year period.
Mentor Brady (right)
For project lead Stacy-Ann January, an associate professor in the USF College of Education and co-director of the Institute of School-Community Partnerships, the work represents a natural extension of her broader approach to research: listening to communities and working alongside them to identify and address their needs.
“I take a very participatory approach with my research,” January said. “Really working alongside those schools and communities, as they identify their needs and the things that they would like support with, then partnering with them to provide those services and supports.”
Project MENTOR is designed to fill a space between traditional academic support and clinical services, not to be confused with tutoring or counseling. Instead, mentors provide students with a consistent, positive relationship to build their skills in goal-setting, problem-solving, motivation, confidence and engagement in school.
The students participating in the program are identified by school staff and, in some cases, families who believe their child could benefit from additional mentoring support.
“Sometimes just having that additional person who believes in them can really help,” January said.
"I think that with a safe space comes the ability to learn more, not just about others, but also about themselves, which therefore I think positively impacts their academic performance and their social skills and their social-emotional regulation," said Hannah Brady, a mentor at Foster Elementary in Tampa.
Project MENTOR grew out of an existing relationship between January, the USF College of Education and Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Stacy-Ann January
January is currently in the third year of a five-year, $9.3 million grant focused on implementing a university-assisted community schools model, in which districts and universities partner to help students and families access a range of academic, behavioral, health and basic resources.
Through that partnership, district leaders identified mentoring as an area where students could benefit from additional support.
Project MENTOR currently operates in four Hillsborough County public schools, with one mentor assigned to each school, serving second through fifth grades.
Each mentor is trained in an existing evidence-based mentoring program that has been adapted for the Hillsborough County school context.
Over time, January and her team will look at outcomes, such as working cooperatively with others, following school rules, participating in class activities and demonstrating effort, as indicators of student success.
The team will use what they learn to continually refine the program. January hopes the project will help the team determine how mentoring services can be adapted, scaled and sustained so that other schools can implement similar programs in the future.
Interested in Project MENTOR?
Parents and families with questions about Project MENTOR may contact Stacy-Ann January at sajanuary@usf.edu.