INCREASING 9TH GRADE STUDENT EFFICACY THROUGH MENTORSHIP

Laura Barrosse-Antle

Background

My Action Research Project emerged out of concern about students’ increasing perfectionism. The Sidwell Friends Mental Health Task Force collected data on our students’ mental health in the 2022/23 school year and found a correlation between perfectionism and poor mental health. They also identified self-efficacy as a significant protective factor associated with better mental health. Students with high self-efficacy agree with statements such as “I am confident that I will successfully overcome challenges” and “I am confident that I will be able to achieve most of my goals.”

As I started thinking about potential interventions to increase efficacy and decrease perfectionism, the barrier that came up most frequently was the credibility gap between adults and adolescents. Centering student voices and experiences in my action research would be critical to its success.

Exploration/Learning

Exit interviews with seniors at the end of the 2022/23 school year reminded me of the depth of wisdom to be found in our graduating class, indicated that many of our graduating students wished they had 12th grade insight during their 9th grade year, and affirmed that 12th grade students were open to or actively seeking connection with their younger peers. Administrators in the Upper School also expressed that peer mentorship would be valuable to the school community. Thus, my project became the creation of a program to connect 9th grade mentees with 12th grade mentors.

In preparation for launching a new mentorship program, I spoke with colleagues at Sidwell Friends and other Quaker schools about similar programs past and present and read peer-reviewed articles. My research confirmed that effective peer mentorship could increase competence (efficacy) and connection and provided important insight into the process of selecting and training mentors successfully.

In writing the application materials for the 12th grade mentors, I described the ideal candidate as a student who learns from their successes and challenges and has a process-oriented perspective on what it means to be a student at Sidwell Friends. One question on the application form also focused on the theme of growth, asking applicants to describe their process of adaptation to meet a school-related challenge that had lasted at least two of their three full years of high school.

After sending the application forms to 12th grade students in mid-September, I received 11 applications and accepted them all. Three group training sessions in October oriented mentors to the purpose and ethos of the program, instructed them in some active listening techniques, and talked about healthy boundaries. Each session ended with scenarios where mentors discussed possible responses to challenging situations.

Nine 9th graders signed up for a mentor initially, seven of whom were new to Sidwell in 9th grade, and I directly approached two other 9th graders who I felt would benefit from the program. In matching mentors and mentees, I used my knowledge of the participating 9th graders and the challenge the 12th graders had described in response to the growth-oriented question on their application forms. Both sets of students also listed identities that they were comfortable being considered in the matching process, and I used that information as well.

Discoveries

Increasing feelings of efficacy and connection were the primary goals of the program, and some of the mentors have gone above and beyond to achieve that outcome. One mentor attended her mentee’s ballet performance over winter break. Another was mentoring a student who had to learn from home for an extended period, and the mentor was proactive about keeping in touch with her mentee through texting and FaceTime. Yet another encouraged her mentee, a reticent 9th grader who is new to the country as well as to the school, to try out for and join her a cappella group. As of early March, the most diligent individual mentors have logged seven to ten meetings with their mentees. All mentors have met with their mentees multiple times.

All mentees I interviewed for feedback prior to writing this summary reported feeling connected to their mentors. Two mentees said that they were expecting to get a lot of information on the school, but that they liked that they had found more conversation rather than advice. Another mentee shared that she appreciated the space to take a step back from work and just talk. Multiple mentor-mentee pairs reported that they connected in school outside of the required 20-25 minute meetings each week. Mentees, especially, placed value on being able to say “hi” to a senior in the hall.

Whether mentees have seen any increased feelings of efficacy is harder to gauge. I sent a survey with standardized measures on connection and efficacy in early November, but only half of my already small sample filled it out, so I don’t anticipate getting much useful information from a before and after comparison of survey data. Instead, turning again to the interviews conducted with mentees mid-year, I can report that mentees have shared that they are having conversations with their mentors about topics related to efficacy. For example, a student who struggles with perfectionism has had discussions with her mentor about managing academic pressure and the culture amongst some students of taking pride in how little sleep they’re getting. Another wrote in an email that his mentor has “helped [him] learn how to navigate [his] work effectively,” while a different mentee found it comforting and useful to know that his 9th grade year, struggles and successes, was “normal.”

A benefit of the program that I didn’t anticipate is that it engages students in thinking creatively about how to support one another. One mentor spontaneously shared feedback related to conversations with her mentee and her own experiences, bringing up specific skills related to self-advocacy that she thought it was important for 9th graders to know. I look forward to hearing more input from the mentors and will solicit it if it doesn’t emerge organically. As a member of student support teams, I am also excited to consider how we can expand our use of mentoring to support students who are experiencing social or academic challenges.

Next Steps

1. Collect final feedback on the individual mentorship program from both mentors and mentees (April 2024)

2. Schedule mentors to talk to 11th grade class to solicit interest in the program for next year (April 2024)

3. Seek feedback from the Student Support Team and Upper School faculty to improve the program for future years (May 2024)

4. Modify the program as necessary in response to feedback (summer 2024).

5. Grow the program so that at least a quarter of the 9th graders can be matched with individual mentors in the 2024/25 school year.

LAURA BARROSSE-ANTLE

9th Grade Dean, Science TeacherSidwell Friends School Washington, DC

I came to Sidwell Friends in 2011 for the location and academics and stayed for the mission and community. Over my thirteen years at Sidwell Friends, the Quaker vision of education has become central to my own understanding of what it means to be a teacher and administrator, and I’ve been privileged to serve our students in a number of roles, including Upper School chemistry teacher, swimming coach, clerk or co-clerk of various committees, and Assistant Academic Dean for the Upper School. Currently, I teach 10th grade chemistry, a forensic science elective, and 9th Grade Studies as well as serving as 9th Grade Dean. Prior to arriving at Sidwell Friends, I was a water polo coach, science teacher, and dorm faculty at The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut.