Brevard Schools Foundation’s Take Stock in Children program is in need of 30 adult volunteer mentors before the end of April 2011! 

 There are over 72,000 students in Brevard Public Schools with over 30% on the free and reduced lunch list; sighting low-income students who are more at risk of dropping out of school.  Mentoring works! Youth are five times more likely to graduate if they have a meaningful relationship with an adult.

Additional focus may be on the horizon for Florida’s mentoring movement, as Governor Rick Scott’s 7-7-7 Plan calls for the state to engage the for-profit and non-profit sectors communities to work together to take action in education. He wants to improve transitions for students between their elementary, middle, high, and post-secondary school years.  Scott also believes mentoring programs give students the lifelong skills needed to become great mentors themselves.

“The exponential impact of a system-wide mentoring program will follow Floridians throughout their career and has the potential for major societal impact,” Scott said in his New Education for a New Economy booklet.

Research clearly illustrates that mentoring can change lives. Statistics show that a young person who meets with a mentor is:

• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs.
• 27% less likely to begin drinking alcohol.
• 52% less likely to skip school.
• 37% less likely to skip a class.
• 33% less likely to engage in a fight.

Mentoring can, and should, be a long-term commitment to Brevard’s children. Research in Florida shows that mentored students have marked learning gains and are enrolling in continuing education at higher rates than non-mentored students.

Contact the Brevard Schools Foundation to learn more about mentoring in Brevard Public Schools at 321-633-1000 x 756 or visit the website at www.brevardschoolsfoundation.org

*Excerpts taken from Florida Mentoring Partnership