Littles with BIG Results
BBBSHC’s Mentoring Improves the Lives of Children
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County runs six different school-based programs in the community. Teachers are seeing improvements in how Little Brother and Sister students are feeling about themselves, their school, their teacher and in their academic performance overall. Below are results from teacher surveys. See how Littles have grown:
You have seen the numbers. Now let’s hear from our school partners. An independent evaluator compiled stakeholder interviews on our U.S. Department of Education-funded SMART Project. Here’s what they had to say:
TCCI_Community_Stakeholder_Interview_Report.pdf
Thank you for the IMPACT your support has had on
Why mentoring? Because it works…
Mentoring and Education: You’ve heard us again and again. “It’s fun. It’s as simple as hanging out, having pizza together, shooting hoops.” Why would community-based mentoring, which is not about tutoring or doing homework together, affect school success? The answer: Little Brothers and Little Sisters learn from their Bigs’ examples that school is important. Littles receive encouragement from their Bigs to do better next time and learn from mistakes. Littles learn about having better relationships with their peers, parents, teachers and other adults. It all contributes to a better school experience.
Mentoring and Substance Abuse: Big Brothers and Big Sisters help their Littles stay away from drugs and alcohol. Makes sense, right? A caring friend and guide is just the kind of positive influence a young person needs to make good, healthy choices. Big support and encouragement is a great defense against peer pressure.
Mentoring and Violence: Mentoring is teaching by example. What better way for a child to learn how to solve conflicts than spending time with a caring adult who shows you how to be patient, talk it out, count to ten, walk away. It’s no wonder Littles are less likely to hit someone—they learn to find a solution that is not a fight.
Recent Study Shows Community-Based Mentoring Works
Public/Private Ventures Control Group Research Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters Community-Based Mentoring
The most widely cited mentoring outcomes research study[1] compared youth matched with mentors to a control group and found that mentored youth had improved outcomes over their non-mentored peers in several areas. The results show that youth mentored in one-to-one Big Brothers Big Sisters relationships:
- skipped half as many days of school compared to controls, with the biggest difference among minority females;
- were 46% less likely than controls to initiate drug use during the study period (minority youth 70% less likely than minority controls to initiate drug use);
- were 27% less likely than controls to initiate alcohol use during the study period (minority female about 50% less likely than controls to initiate alcohol use); and
- were almost one-third less likely than controls to hit someone.
Read the study here -- Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters
Similar Study Shows School-Based Mentoring Works
Public/Private Ventures Control Group Research Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring
Recently published research on the impact of school-based mentoring[2] confirms academic gains, such as overall academic performance, quality of class work, number of assignments turned in and a reduction in serious school infractions. Perhaps the finding most vital to fostering the growth of school-based mentoring was that these programs, more even than those that operate outside of schools, are reaching students with several risk factors and attracting diverse volunteers who would not have been as likely to volunteer in a non school-based setting. Read the full study here -- Making a Difference in Schools: The Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Study
Long-term Relationships Work Best
Jean Rhodes Research on Close, Consistent and Enduring Mentoring Relationships
The average length of a BBBSHC mentoring relationship is 29 months.The body of mentoring research and effective practices literature,[3] while supporting the outcomes that derive from mentoring, link the most significant gains to programs that are equipped to most effectively find, screen, match and support mentors. Leading researcher Jean Rhodes has contributed to the creation and compilation of mentoring studies. Her article "The Test of Time" discusses the importance of enduring mentoring relationships on youth outcomes in her article. Her work consistently supports the case for program infrastructure and quality mentoring.
Improving Youth Mentoring Interventions Through Research-based Practice
Understanding and Facilitating the Youth Mentoring Movement
The Test of Time: Predictors and Effects of Duration in Youth Mentoring Relationships
Adults See Lifelong Benefits of Youth Mentoring
Harris Interactive Adult Little Research
How do Littles do when they are big? According to a 2009 Harris Interactive Poll, adults who had a Big Brother or Sister as a child are better educated, wealthier and more fulfilled. Check out the AdultLittlesResearchSummary.pdf.
Mentoring Works in Massachusetts
Mass Mentoring Counts 2008
According to Mass Mentoring Counts,[4] Mass Mentoring Partnership’s research on the state of mentoring in Massachusetts, of the more than 19,000 youth in formal mentoring relationships in Massachusetts, only 1365 of them are in the western part of the state with 674 on waiting lists (in fact, 22% youth on waiting lists in Massachusetts are in Western MA). Considering that there are more than 25,000[5] students in the Springfield Public Schools alone, the need for quality growth in mentoring in
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[1] Tierney, JP, Grossman, JB & Resch, NL (1995). Making a difference: An impact study of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
[2] Herrera, C., Baldwin Grossman, J., Kauh, T.J., Feldman, A.F., McMaken, J., and Jucovy, L.Z. (August, 2007). Making a difference in schools: The Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring impact study.
[3] Rhodes, JE & DeBois, DL (2006). Understanding and Facilitating the Youth Mentoring Movement. Social Policy Report, Vol. 20, No. 3
[4] University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. (2009). Mass Mentoring Counts 2008: The State of Mentoring in
[5]Springfield Public Schools. (2009). Quick Facts about the