Student Mentors Make Transition to Bromley Brook Easier for Girls

By Leslie Davis

Starting at a new high school can be intimidating and overwhelming for any student - especially if they are enrolled in the middle of a school year or in the midst of their high school career.

If you have enrolled your daughter at Bromley Brook, she may be nervous about attending a private boarding school for girls where she doesn't have any friends or any history. But the students at Bromley Brook will help put her (and your) mind at ease.

About three years ago, students at the girls' boarding school developed a peer mentoring program that matches each girl who enrolls at the school with a student mentor. The mentors help new students find their way around the school, escort them to classes, introduce them to other students and help the new girls feel more relaxed about spending time at boarding school.

"The mentors serve as informal student big sisters to get girls acclimated to the program," said Mary Jo DeGrandi, MS, coordinator of Special Therapeutic Programs at Bromley Brook.

Finding a Good Match

New students are paired with mentors as soon as they are enrolled at Bromley Brook. The students are matched by the school's admissions and community life directors, who try to find some similarities between a mentor and mentee to ensure the match is a good - and worthwhile - fit.

The admissions director compiles a profile of the newly enrolled girl to determine her age, interests and background. The girl is then matched with a mentor who has some type of connection to her, such as an interest in the same sport, growing up in the same state or attending the same wilderness therapy program.

"Every girl who enters our program has a mentor," DeGrandi said. "We look for similarities between the girls, but some matches may be more successful than others."

If a mentor does not feel as though she is well matched with her mentee, she can ask another mentor (one who she thinks the mentee would better connect with) to step in. If the match was successful, it will often last during a girl's entire stay at Bromley Brook - and even after her time at the girls boarding school has ended.

"Even if they are not with their mentors long, the girls will remember them," DeGrandi said. "Students can know or name them even years later."

A Student Initiative

It was students at the girls' boarding school who first recognized the need for a peer mentorship program, DeGrandi says. "Students recognized that, when girls were coming in, they were having a hard time getting adjusted. They wanted to find ways for students to have peer support really early on," she said. "They know that, when you are brand new, it's hard to be away from home."

The new students are often introduced to their mentors during enrollment. The mentors often take new girls to see their rooms or meet other students while their parents are finishing paperwork or meeting with the school's clinicians. During the first week, the mentors help girls with logistics, such as where things are on campus and how to get their schedules.

Bromley Brook's student mentors check in regularly with their mentees during the school year and help the girls work through problems or concerns they are having. The mentors also plan events, such as dinners, during the school year to help establish a positive mentor/mentee connection.

All mentors go through mentorship training where they learn communication and positive problem-solving skills. During a day-long retreat held once per semester, 10 to 15 students are trained in mediation, relationship building, positive peer guidance and how to determine when a counselor should get involved.

As part of their training, the mentors also do a lot of role playing exercises so they can learn to handle situations in positive and productive ways, DeGrandi says.

Positive Peer Support

The student mentorship program allows girls to look to their peers for positive problem solving and constructive feedback, and not just to vent. Mentors can help girls at the boarding school work through issues with their families, roommates or other students.

"It gives girls access to positive support so they don't feel like they have to run to their counselors 20 times a day for things they can manage on their own," DeGrandi says. "The mentors have developed positive coping strategies to use in the moment."

Research has shown that students who experience meaningful interactions with a peer mentor demonstrate greater motivation and academic success. According to the National Youth Network, a peer mentorship program can accomplish the following:

  • Improve the grades or other measures of academic.
  • Improve school attendance.
  • Reduce rates of truancy, suspension, expulsion and dropout.
  • Improve self-esteem and confidence.
  • Strengthen community ties by creating opportunities for students to work with and learn from younger and older students.
  • Dispel or reduce stereotypes, misconceptions or fears that members of different age groups at the school may have held.
Bromley Brook's student mentorship program is also a great opportunity for the girls who serve as mentors, teaching them valuable communication and problem-solving skills and the importance of commitment.

"It's a huge responsibility, and they really take this opportunity to shine," DeGrandi said. "It builds such positive self-esteem and is a good way for students to stay connected to what they once experienced."