Honors Mentor Connection Fact Sheet for Mentors
Honors Mentor Connection is an academic class offered through Gifted Education Services
for highly motivated able learners who are selected from each high school primarily from the
senior class. To be selected, students must show that they have completed significant coursework available to them in their area of interest. In preparation for a mentorship, students spend
the first quarter of Honors Mentor Connection in seminars emphasizing professional skill building, becoming familiar with the literature of the selected field, and conducting informational interviews with experts in the field.
Mentor Identification is a collaborative process where both the student and the placement
teacher investigate the opportunities available in the student’s area of interest, seeking to identify the person and/or place where the work best matches the student’s area of interest. This
exploration process results in significant growth for the student. Once the students have an appropriate preparation, they are scheduled for an interview with a potential mentor. Following this
interview, if all parties agree, a mentorship is formed.
The timeframe is determined by the mentor and student, with the mentor’s schedule being the
basis. Each Honors Mentor Connection student has Honors Mentor Connection scheduled as
the last part of the school day. The student is required to spend 8 hours per week under the
guidance of the mentor or the mentor’s colleagues. This does not mean that the mentor spends
all of this time with the student. Most students go to the mentor site for four hours two days per
week.
Invite the student into your career. We do not have a template for this experience. We trust
your judgment about experiences you feel would be educational for your protégé. Please use
your own discretion about possible meetings, seminars, and conferences; people and organizations; and skills and concepts the student should experience for the best learning. Mentor
placement allows the student to be the protégé who assists the mentor as appropriate. As the
mentor learns the capabilities of the student, the responsibilities can increase.
No paperwork is expected of you. The student will report all record keeping and communication
in a monthly e-mailed memo. Class participation in seminar discussions includes specific areas
for evaluation. Grading will be reported the school based upon the evidence the student provides, including a Summary Grade Report submitted at the end of each grading period, detailing
the advanced reading and informational interviewing the student has completed.
A site conference will occur once or twice. The student will arrange the appointment and the
meeting place, plan the agenda, and run a short meeting to report progress on the project.
The project required of each student is an area of concentration within the mentorship that allows the student to develop an area of expertise, while also providing structure and purpose to
the mentorship. Each student is required to complete a project of professional quality that will
benefit someone in the “real world.” The project is presented publicly at the annual Honors
Mentor Connection Scholars’ Forum.
The Honors Mentor Connection Scholars’ Forum, on the last Wednesday evening in April,
will be a program and exposition honoring our mentors and celebrating the student’s work. Each
student will have a poster presentation to feature the project and the experience. We encourage
mentors to display professional materials on the student’s table. There will be approximately
350 people in attendance.