National Urban League, Inc.

Program Overview and Background

The goal of Project Ready Mentor is to ensure that vulnerable youth move to succeeding grades on time and without the need for remediation, graduate high school ready for success after high school delivered in comprehensive, research–driven mentoring programs. Our approach incorporates academic achievement, intellectual development, anti–bullying prevention and bullying supports, social and emotional development and college and career readiness.

Program Services

Project Ready: Mentor utilizes group mentoring in its approach. At affiliate locations these relationships are primarily structured to accommodate group mentoring (no more than 1:4 adult to youth ratio) and group activities drawn directly from Urban League curricula including: behind the business tours; developing local anti–bullying campaigns and messaging as a group; and speed interview activities designed to help students feel more comfortable in, and prepared for, interview settings via feedback from multiple adults. An effective best practice from our affiliates is to incorporate specific one–on–one time between mentors and mentees in order to foster trust and support beyond any group, peer or team activities.

Target Population

The primary target population is African–American and other low and moderate–income (LMI) urban youth between the ages of 11–17 that are particularly vulnerable to community violence and disengagement from school, attend underperforming schools, are vulnerable to bullying and cyber–bullying, are court–involved or have been adjudicated.