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According to prevailing statistics acquired by the U.S. Department of Education Ethic Center (1997), there is an increasing social concern for personal safety. In order for effective teaching and learning to take place, students and teachers must feel safe in and out of the classroom. From 1991 to 1996, student tardiness, student absenteeism, and class cutting reached record levels. Student tardiness in high schools across the county was 67%, within middle schools it was 40%, and within elementary schools it was 32%. The Department of Labor reported, in the school year 1996 to 1997, more than 57% of U.S. public schools reported experiencing at least one crime incident, and 1 in 10 schools reported at least one serious violent crime during that school year. Our society must develop new and creative ways of dealing with the issues and concerns of our youth in all communities. Mentoring Today for Tomorrow Inc.was formed by educators and community leaders who have come to realize the tremendous need of a character building mentoring program. The mentoring program will serve as a catalyst to unify parents, educators, and other community agencies that are committed to the improvement of the social/ethical behavior of our youth. We want to develop programs that will address the changing social issues of our communities. The program's function is to be all inclusive within our schools and our communities. The program purpose, goals, and objectives will be to instill positive self esteem and intellectual awareness while establishing motivational drive by eliciting personal dreams/goals/aspirations, inspiring the ability to envision those goals, and fortifying the youth's ability to attain those goals.  (Click image for larger view) Mentoring Today for Tomorrow Inc. has developed a new innovative program to answer the diverse needs of our youth today. The program is innovative because it is all inclusive of the four major areas of youth development while acting as a service and referral source for the community. The program was designed to administer to the needs of the general youth population, which include 51% of the population that are at-risk, disadvantaged, low income, foster care, teen mothers, and disabled (limited services) boys and girls, ages 9 - 18 years old between the hours of 3:00pm to 6:00pm Monday through Thursday. The program revolves around eight or twelve week sessions that include at least six weeks and will focus on the development of appropriate interpersonal skills, relationships, and positive ethical behavior. The benefit of the mentoring program is two fold: First, the program will establish opportunities that will foster increase positive social face-to-face interaction, as well as increase academic performance. Secondly, the program will benefit students by providing modeling in ethical standards of behavior that can be used, to assist high school students with their transition from school to work. In light of the fact that the program has been designed as a no-cost benefit to the community, the program relies on contributions through grants, sponsorships, fundraising events, and public contributions. Statement of Non-Discrimination Mentoring Today for Tomorrow Inc. does not discriminate against any persons based upon race, color, creed, national origin, sex, and age, except to the extent given by law. |