Do you remember the "Circle of Life" song in the "Lion King" movies? Its message reminds us of the annual repetition of events as we and our students grow older.

In the school-year cycle we still have three full months before Summer break. In a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program, many are in the "can't wait" mode of thinking.

Yet this is the time for leaders to be collecting feedback, looking at what other programs do, and recruiting volunteers to help them start the school year again in the fall.

This planning should lead to a constant improvement in what programs do to help kids and volunteers connect and build relationships.

The ideas and resources shared in this monthly newsletter point to a library of resources that can be used by anyone, in Chicago, or around the world, to help mentor-rich youth programs thrive in all of the neighborhoods where they are most needed.

Encourage others in your city to find and use these resources!

The President supports tutoring. He needs to dig deeper.

President Biden called for more tutors during his March 2024 State of the Union address. In the early 2000s President Bush also issued a call for tutors, as part of his "No Child Left Behind" plan. I created a presentation titled "Defining Terms" to call for a more sophisticated strategy that matched the type of tutoring and/or mentoring support provided to the person who was being served, and the social/economic environment where he/she lives. View the PDF in this article. Share it with policy-makers, donors and business leaders.

Create future leaders who LEAD and SUPPORT

As you look at the maps and identify where volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs are most needed and what programs already exist you'll soon realize that a lot of programs are needed. Every program needs visionary, innovative, persistent leaders and staff, which means every one also needs a core of dedicated volunteers and donors.

Read this article from the Tutor/Mentor blog that points to the need for one, or many, universities to set up "pipeline" programs that draw students into college level courses that teach some of them habits and skills that enable them to lead constantly improving programs and teach the rest of them habits of consistent, on-going giving, that leads them to provide the support each program needs over many years. If you are in a position to make a billion dollar gift to a university (as someone recently did) why not endow a tutor/mentor connection type curriculum at your favorite university.

Planning Calendar and Steps to Start a Tutor/Mentor Program

On-going volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs work on a cycle that repeats from year-to-year, with recruitment of youth and volunteers at the start and celebrations and graduations at the end. In that cycle there needs to be constant data collection and learning that enables programs to improve what they do so they have a greater positive impact on youth and volunteers from year-to-year. In this section of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website you can find ideas that I learned from leading a tutor/mentor program for 35 years which you can borrow to help build your own program or start new programs where more are needed.

About this newsletter.

While I try to send this only once a month, I write blog articles weekly. Throughout the newsletter I post links to a few of the articles published in the past month or earlier. I encourage you to spend a little time each week reading these articles and following the links. Use the ideas and presentations in group discussions with other people who are concerned about the same issues.

view current and past newsletters at this link.

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