Welcome to 2014! It’s January which means it’s National Mentoring Month! This month, I’ll be sharing ideas, tips, and stories to promote awareness of mentoring and enticing more adults to get involved in mentoring relationships and programs with young people.
I’m sharing a story that was originally published in BlackNews.com by Monique Morris, Ed.D., author and co-founder of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute. The article highlights research demonstrating that African American girls continue to be disproportionately over-represented among girls in confinement and court-ordered residential placements. The article also reports they are also significantly over-represented among girls who experience exclusionary discipline, such as out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and other punishment. CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY!
My purpose in sharing this piece is to inform, provide food for thought, and to serve as a call to action by illustrating, that based on our experiences and this research, how desperately our girls are in need of mentoring and advocacy to support their self-improvement as individuals, but also to ensure that they receive the proper support and education from the institutions in which they are educated.
Please share your thoughts below! And, spread the word about the importance of mentoring throughout the month of January!
Kelly
KellyFairTheMentor