Youth Development

Our Youth Development Community of Practice offers professional learning opportunities for youth development practitioners serving young people in Montgomery County. The Community of Practice brings to the County’s youth development practitioners a coordinated system of on-going training with experienced and knowledgeable facilitators, expert-led symposia, on-line courses, and access to e-learning resources, such as a library and recorded webinars. At the core of the Community of Practice is peer networking to share best practices and innovative program strategies that promote positive youth outcomes in the County’s young people. For information and registration on upcoming workshops please CLICK HERE

Mentoring studies have proven the importance of quality mentoring relationships for young people. Having access to a mentor leads to higher rates of young people enrolling in college, being more likely to volunteer and holding leadership positions professionally. Research has also shown that mentoring programs that utilize best practices have a greater impact on the lives of young people compared with programs that don’t. In 2016, the Collaboration Council explored the status of mentoring in Montgomery County by commissioning a study on the state of mentoring.

Data Sources: Semi-structured key informant interviews with representatives from mentoring programs and focus groups with representatives from funders, business leaders, and youth practitioners.

Findings: The study found the following ongoing needs, challenges, and opportunities in Montgomery County mentoring programs:

• Codifying all mentoring program policies and procedures in a manual or guide;
• Developing and implementing a resource development strategy and increasing the overall level of program funding;
• Providing staff development opportunities and increasing staff size;
• Locating and using mentoring program training and technical assistance to support the development of mentoring programs;
• Creating community awareness of specific mentoring programs and the general benefits of mentoring;
• Using evaluation data for program improvement; and
• Finding opportunities for collaboration among youth-serving organizations and mentoring programs.

Upon completion of the interviews and analysis, the report stated that there were five distinct areas that were recommended for implementation that would increase the impact of mentoring programs as they currently stand. These five recommendations were:

1.Develop comprehensive mentoring program manuals or guides;

2.Create, implement, and monitor resource development plans;

3.Increase the amount of pre-match and post-match training provided to mentors;

4.Provide consistent pre-match training to mentees and parents or guardians; and

5.Increase program capacity to collect, analyze, and use data for program improvement and for monitoring the quality of the mentoring relationship.

State of Mentoring in MoCo Report

Excel Beyond the Bell (EBB): is a public-private partnership offering safe, quality and accessible out-of-school time programs, professional development, and support for providers. Together with the Montgomery County Recreation Department, Montgomery County Public Schools, and community-based organizations, our comprehensive middle school program has grown from serving three to eight middle schools since fall of 2010. Two elementary schools will be added in February 2017.

Outcomes: During FY16, a total of 257 hours of programming were offered with 124 different class options. At least 87% of participants were satisfied or very satisfied with their program in terms of feeling a sense of belonging, having fun, and being safe, as well as having staff who were supportive, trustworthy and provided choice in their classes.

click here to visit Excel Beyond the Bell

Johnson, Elaine
Community of Practice Director
Extension 204
elaine.johnson@collaborationcouncil.org

Sobolov, Lynn
Deputy Director
Extension 213
lynn.sobolov@collaborationcouncil.org

Wheeler, Jr., Elijah
Director, Social Justice
Extension 217
elijah.wheeler@collaborationcouncil.org

Bailey, Leteria
Data and Training Assistant
Extension 222
leteria.bailey@collaborationcouncil.org

Mentoring

MENTOR

Excel Beyond the Bell

Excel Beyond the Bell

Community of Practice Webinars

Creating a Safe Space Reducing Bullying and Harassment Building Positive Climate Webinar
Data Story Telling Webinar