Upperclassmen are continuing to participate in the freshman mentorship program this year, helping new students adjust to Upper School life and academic expectations.
Created by Ninth Grade Dean and Science Teacher Laura Barrosse-Antle in the 2023-2024 school year, the curriculum targets open dialogue and collaboration between students. The program builds on data from Sidwell’s Mental Health Committee showing a correlation between self-efficacy and resilience, Barrosse-Antle said.
According to an article written by Barrosse-Antle on ISSUU, the data from the 2022-2023 school year found a correlation between perfectionism and poor mental health. It also identified self-efficacy as a crucial factor associated with mental health. The data showed that students with higher self-efficacy agreed with statements such as “I am confident that I will successfully overcome challenges” and “I am confident that I will be able to achieve most of my goals.” Barrosse-Antle wrote that she began to think about potential interventions to increase efficacy and decrease perfectionism, and the barrier that was most frequent was the credibility gap between adults and adolescents. As a result, she wanted to center student voices and experiences in her action research.
When designing her project, she reviewed exit interviews from the 2022-2023 seniors, and it reminded her of the depth and wisdom that was found in the senior class. Many of the students mentioned how they wished they had senior insight during their freshman year and affirmed that if they had the opportunity, they were open or actively seeking connection with their younger peers. After much preparation and planning, Administrators in the Upper School agreed with Barrosse-Antle and expressed that peer mentorship would be valuable to the community
Currently, mentors partake in three mandatory lunch meetings prior to regular meetings with their mentee.
“We were told to summarize the issue, acknowledge their feelings, [and] gently relate to them without directing attention towards ourselves.”
The mentor found that the skills they gained from the training also apply outside of the mentoring program “because it is a more effective way to comfort someone in cases when finding the words to do so might have otherwise been more challenging without this knowledge.”
One mentor describes the program as “refreshing,” as mentors get the chance to make inter-grade connections with those they would not have interacted with otherwise.
In addition to the social skills mentors can gain, mentees are meant to gain knowledge about navigating Upper School life and understanding that “other people have had their experience, that they’re not alone, [and that] it’s always a little bit messy,” Barrosse-Antle said.
Apart from the clear benefits being for the mentees, Barrosse-Antle finds that it can be beneficial for mentors to look back upon how much they have grown since ninth grade, and how many skills they have gained over the past two or three years.
Instead of constantly looking at how much you have to grow, acknowledging that you “have grown a whole lot and [you] have valuable things to offer my community” can have a positive impact on mindset, Barrosse-Antle added.
The mentors can also speak to the complexities of the school environment that administrators might not be aware of or open about, as well as handling social situations in and out of the classroom – such as social pressures or aspirations. Mentors can also help inform ninth-grade mentees about different clubs and ways to get involved in the Upper School community.
The mentor-mentee relationships are dependent upon each other, and Barrosse-Antle said it is crucial to “[let] that relationship guide kind of what people get out of it, make sure that it is personalized and pertinent to the needs of both people.”
Even though the incentives for mentors are more abstract, Barrosse-Antle observed that the influx of upperclassmen sign-ups speaks volumes. The most important thing that can be gained from both sides is “the ability to be in a good community with each other.”
