Requirements to be a mentor for the tnAchieves program:
• Complete a mentor application. To ensure receiving the school of choice, tnAchieves strongly encourages mentors to apply early.
• Attend one of the mentor training sessions in the fall. These will cover all information needed to be an effective mentor.
• Make initial contact with the students before the end of the year. This should be a call to the student’s home, text messages and emails. tnAchieves urges mentors to introduce themselves to parents before contacting the students.
• Attend two team meetings with the assigned students.
• January Team Meeting — The first meeting familiarizes the families with tnAchieves and their requirements. This is also the mentor’s opportunity to introduce himself or herself to the students as well as the parents/guardians. This meeting will also discuss FAFSA and the mandatory Feb. 1 FAFSA filing deadline.
• March Team Meeting — The second meeting will discuss the college admissions process, including application deadlines and new student orientations. This meeting will also further develop the relationship between the mentor and the student.
• Mentors should check in with their students on a bi-monthly basis. This may require a one-on-one session with the students but can be as simple as a reminder text message of upcoming events and/or deadlines. tnAchieves will periodically ask mentors to give an update on their students’ progress. tnAchieves provides mentors with suggested mentor communication in their mentor handbook.
• Mentors should keep in touch with their students over the summer, as tnAchieves requires an early class registration deadline. Many of the students will need to complete placement tests before class registration.
• Mentors should encourage their students in the weeks leading up to their first day of college. This is an intimidating time for the students and often for their families as well. Mentors should be there to lessen the uncertainty and direct them to the appropriate person to answer their questions and/or concerns.
• Mentors should relay information about community service opportunities. The student must complete their first 8 hours of community service prior to the end of the first semester. The student must report this information to tnAchieves using the community service form on the program’s website before Dec. 1 and May 1 each semester.
• Each student is different with regard to motivation, sense of urgency, work ethic, ability to meet deadlines and other important characteristics associated with college access and success. Some students will require more time than others. tnAchieves anticipates an average time commitment of 15 hours from mentor training through completion of the students’ first semester in college.