Mentors can help students feel that someone values them and is invested in their success. They can help provide information and social capital for a student who does not know what opportunities exists and how/ what they need to do to realistically achieve their goals. They can expose students to new possible future selves and hold students accountable to their own potential.

Simone, Harvard University 

A mentor can help a struggling student get back on track by helping to find that student’s strengths, weaknesses, passions, what makes them “tick”, what excites them and by understanding what type of learner that student is.

Rebecca, Educator

A mentor and life coach can help disinterested students by showing them respect. Mentors and Coaches do not talk down, but rather they inspire. My mentors have shown me unconditional love – meaning love that is not buttressed by my own generation of money, time, time or success. They respect me regardless. When I know this, I know that I can do no wrong, even when I make mistakes. Then, when that happens, I want to get back on track. When other people honestly believe in me enough, I usually begin to believe in myself.

My mentor is a college access program CEO/founder who inspires me and loved me when she didn’t have to. My mom, because she is always honest with me and lets me carve my own path because she loves that much. My dad because he’s unconventional and worldly – ditto for Josephine Baker; I love her confidence. And last by not least, my brother because he changes for no one.

Jordan, Wellesley College 

A mentor can build the relationship necessary to stick besides him/her and help figure out the best route – and help build the “15 year old teen’s” sense of confidence and agency so that they are making active decisions based on looking to the future and not just now. The mentor can also link to so many experiences besides school and that can be powerful developmentally.

To a student who has just dropped out of school I would ask them about their vision for their own future and why they feel that school doesn’t fit into that vision. I would ask about their experiences in school, when they felt that it was useful and when it was not and how much of each they experienced. I would ask what it is that they can offer the world – and whether school has helped them discover or refine that role.

In regards to such student getting back on track, it really depends on the situation. It might be a vision for how he/she can contribute to the world or the school world. It might be support for family, home or peer situation. It might mean a drastically different kind of education that will validate what they have to offer. It might be an experience being engaged as a meaningful stakeholder.

Annie, Harvard University 

A mentor can talk to the student to figure out what is going on in his life.  If the reason for dropping out is financial, the mentor can help the student to apply for available financial aid programs.  If it is a social issue, such as bullying, the mentor can find the student a counselor and talk to the parents.  If it is a motivational issue, a mentor can encourage the student and help him to find role models.  Mentors often get to know the student’s family and school leaders, when possible.

As a plan of action to getting the student back on track, both the student and the parent can explore communicating with teachers, counselors, and principals about going back to school and ask them for their help and advice.

In my experience, my favorite mentor was my middle school teacher.  She was always warm and supportive.  I was anxious because we had a high school entrance exam at the end of middle school, and I was fearful that I might not do well.  I was also confused about how to make and keep friends.  My teacher went above and beyond – she was a teacher and a counselor.  Talking to her made me feel encouraged and helped me move forward.

It may seem hard now, but you should believe that you can do it.  Believe in yourself.  Trust me, you won’t regret graduating from high school.

Eva, Harvard University 

There are a lot of logistics regarding paperwork and the legal system that many adolescents are unaware of when deciding to go back to school.  A mentor can help simplify such intimidating circumstances and make goal-setting a lot more tangible for someone who dropped out of high school and is determined to do better.

My mentor helped put things into perspective in terms of life, and reassured me that my mistakes were not the end of my career.  Mentors can help you when you need guidance from someone who won’t judge what you have done, but see the potential in what you can do.

It may seem like dropping out is a good decision, but it really isn’t.  Life is really hard, and there are so many more amazing things to see and experience beyond what you are experiencing now.  Find that someone that can help you and lead you back on the right track, it is possible to get back on the right track.  The life you live now isn’t permanent; it can get better.

If I was the parent of a dropout and I wanted to help my child get back on track, I would encourage my child to return to school.  I would try to help my child find a solution to why he had dropped out in the first place and make sure not to criticize.  I would remind my child that the opportunity to go back is there, second chances do exist, and that I will help find resources to help him to be successful.

Karen, Boston University

I believe in being self-dependent, self-sufficient, and self-reliant.  No one can help you fight all the fights in your life; you are responsible to make all the right choices for yourself.  In addition, sometimes it’s valuable to learn things the hard way.  It can make you really strong and prevent you from making similar mistakes in the future.

However, I do believe that mentorship has played an important role in my life.  Though I am independent, I do ask for advice, even if I don’t always follow it.  A good mentor first listens to understand the true reasons of dropping out.  Aside from listening to the student, a mentor also investigates his or her family and school environments to better understand the reasons.  Certain reasons may be hard for the student to articulate.  Other times, the student himself doesn’t even know the true reason.  When a student says that he is bored at school, he may think that means that he is not an academic type, but in fact, he was simply not getting the right support when he needed it.

A mentor can provide what the student needs, and also work with the student’s family, school, and friends to create a new environment.  This new environment will be a multi-channel communication mechanism for the student to get similar messages from all contacts and to be able to voice his or her own future concerns.

Students drop out for many reasons.  For example, they are doing poorly academically, but they can’t get the help that they need at school or at home.  They may be bored with school because their education system is unable to connect with them.  They may feel that a high school education won’t lead them to the right job or a high-paying job.  They may just not like the school environment, or are seriously bullied and only dropped out to stay safe.

Depending on the reasons why they dropped out, they will need different things. But first, they all need understandings from others. You cannot just tell a dropout that school is important, you should go back. For instance, for someone who is doing poorly and lost interests in learning, he or she needs a rekindled interest. A bullied child needs a sense of security. Now if this child is also low-income and cannot transfer to another school, he or she will need financial assistance as well.

In addition, a high school education is not necessarily the only “right track”. If the child is a genius who was bored at school, maybe college application is the right way to go. In China, we also have vocational education at the high school level, if he or she needs to survive or support their family soon, then vocational high school may be a better short-term choice. He or she can always apply for community college or even more prestigious college in the future when they feel that their skills level matches the the school’s program and or have the money.

It’s important to understand the reasons, truly care before you suggest any responses that you think might be most reasonable. Say, “Whatever the reasons are, you can tell me about them. I will listen to you”.

Yiran, Harvard University 

What would you say to a 15 year old who has just dropped out of High School and why? I would first try to understand why the student dropped out of school. I would ask him/her questions to get to know his/her story and his/her family’s story better and the challenges that made it hard for him to stay in school. If I get the sense that the student didn’t fully realize how valuable further education could be, I would share my experience of how being in school helped me identify what I was most passionate about and helped connect me to inspiring people and activities that have brightened my future – and that more school could do the same for him/her. He/she should have a sense of what he can get out of his education, where he wants to go – basically a sense of direction that can keep him focused and give him the drive to stay in school.

A mentor can help identify his area of interest. Ideally, a mentor would know the student well enough to be able to suggest opportunities that the student may feel engaged by. A mentor could also help the student overcome challenges in school (e.g. time management, relationships with his peers or teachers). Finally, a mentor could become someone the student looks up to and feels inspired by, thereby giving him the drive to set goals for him and to reach higher.

My mentor is actually one of my peers at school who just graduated. Although he’s only a year older than me, I look to him a lot. He’s taught me what it means to pour your heart out on something you’re passionate about and I’ve felt inspired by his genuine love of learning. He is also a very kind-hearted person and always makes the effort to put himself into other people’s shoes, which makes him a very approachable person who I feel comfortable going to for guidance.

If I were a dropout, the first step I would take in getting back on track is to talk to someone who was in a similar situation to mine. I would ask my parents/teachers/school administrators if they could connect me to a student who had gone back to school after having dropping out. I think that person would be able to most understand my concerns and the challenges I faced and help talk me through them.

Salena, Harvard University

What would you say to a 15 year old who has just dropped out of high school and why? 

Of course, the first thing I'd want to do is understand why they chose to drop out. In most cases, though, I've felt that asking "why" may feel accusatory--as if implying that it was the wrong decision to make. Instead of asking why, I would ask them: "So what's the plan now?" I feel like this question would get at their thought process for dropping out without implying that I feel it is the wrong decision. Let's face it, sometimes, kids just can't finish high school. Asking what the plan is now will probably be a better way to help them see the value of an education, if in fact there is no real reason for them to be dropping out. I'd assure them that there are people to support them towards the path to graduation, that if others can do it then they can, and introduce them to people who had a tough time in school but stuck to it and got to where they are today.

What does she or he need to get back on track?

Support, support, support. I think the student just needs to see that there are people there to make sure he/she doesn't fall again if they return. I also think they need to see the ultimate value of a high school / college diploma. This is why that I think meeting people from the same area who have graduated and seeing how much better life is for them would be really powerful. As well as touring college campuses. This is what KIPP does, actually. I just met with a 7th grade class who went on a 5 day college trip last week. They're just in 7th grade, but they're already trying to put the idea of college in their heads so that they can get them early!

How can a mentor get her or him back on track?

Honestly, believing in them. I'm one of the co-founders of College Admissions Mentors for Peers in the Philippines (www.campphilippines.org) and the biggest piece of feedback that we get from our mentees is that, beyond the help with essay editing and interview practice and researching colleges, what mentors really did for them was provide a cheerleader--someone who fully trusted and believed that they could do it. According to them, it makes all the difference. On a more practical note, I think that mentors should be able to connect students to resources to help them succeed--whether that's tutoring centers or conferences or activities, etc.

Who is your mentor or hero? Why?

A person who I highly consider my mentor is actually not even someone who I ask for help from a lot. Her name is Ashley Gutierrez and she was a Filipino scholar from my high school, just like me. Ashley graduated four years before me and I never really met her, but I heard her story. She went to Yale and decided to come back to the Philippines to be a journalist and is now renowned for exposing politicians' dirty secrets! Ha! It's pretty awesome. I admire her because she worked hard to get to Yale but then chose to come back and serve the Philippines. I guess, in relation to a mentorship program, this means that it's important to have mentors who have the same background / life trajectory as the kids they're going to mentor. I feel like a mentor's most important role is to be a projection of the future--so kids can see what can happen to them if they work just as hard.

What first step would you take if you were a dropout/the parent of a dropout in getting back on track?

You mean if I had to go back into school? I would let all the teachers know about my situation and what I'm experiencing. I would explain why I dropped out and what type of help I need. I wouldn't leave them in the dark about all of that. Then, of course, I'll turn to a support system to help me catch up with lessons and make big life decisions.

Michi, Harvard

To a student who has dropped out of High School: Don’t quit! What challenges were you facing? Is there any way that I can help? Let me genuinely understand you. To their parent: No one is perfect. It takes a village – seek group (community) support.

My personal story of overcoming adversity has been to never quit and just keep working.

A mentor can help greatly. Mentors can connect on a meaningful level. I can help by being your mentor.

Chris, MIT