Support FCPS High School Students (starting with Herndon High School)
The Herndon High School Career Fair is a Huge Success!
126 people representing 80 employers invested in 2,300 students
Read about it in Issue 18 of our newsletter, Signposts, linked here!
Read about our new Career Pathways Program at Herndon High School, and then complete the Information Sheet linked here to tell us you’re interested!
Your opportunity to help students imagine their future!
A new program at Herndon High School breaks down the walls of the school — to invite the community into the school and to invite the students to go out into the community. Who in the community should participate?
Young adults and older adults in faith communities, companies, nonprofits, clubs and other organizations; and
Area employers, including large and small businesses, nonprofits, service and retail businesses, and trades
The program is being offered in collaboration with the MentorWorks and Work-Based Learning Programs of Fairfax County Public Schools.
Watch this four 4 minute video describing the opportunity
Invitation for employers and community members to participate in Herndon High School Career Pathways Program
What’s involved in being a career guide (mentor)
We invite career guides (mentors) to work with students in small groups or 1-on1 to help them develop viable career plans.
Career guides are trained by Fairfax County Public Schools on mentoring and by Harraseeket on supporting students in developing and pursuing career plans..
Harraseeket supports career guides with ongoing access to resources and content to make them better guides.
Four minute Fairfax County Public Schools video on being a career guide (FCPS refers to this as mentoring)
We invite the career guides to get together from time to time to discuss their experiences and learn with and from each other.
We also form groups of two or more career guides for social and learning experiences with their mentees.
The combination for a student of at-work experiences and working with a nonjudgmental adult with a little wisdom and experience is powerful.
Requirements
Who can be a career guide?
Young adults over 21 and older adults are needed.
Career guides need to be able commit to spending at least 30 minutes a week with their mentees, in person or by video (in person often is preferable).
Career guides need to:
comply with FCPS requirements
attend an FCPS and a Harraseeket training program
be subject to a background check, screening and fingerprinting
Why be a career guide for a Herndon High school student?
FCPS needs 2,000 mentors to support at-risk students. The need is especially acute right now, on the heels of three academic years dominated by isolation and anxiety.
The challenge.
Those to be mentored are “in need”: Of 189,000 students in FCPS, 29% are eligible for free/reduced meals, 29% receive ESOL services, and 15% receive special education services. Too many don’t have an adult regularly in their lives.
A recent CDC study showed a steep decline in teen mental health, but also noted that “[c]omprehensive strategies that improve connections with others at home, in the community, and at school might foster improved mental health.”
You can change a life.
According to Public/Private Venture Studies of Big Brothers/Big Sisters (2018), when compared to their peers, mentored youth are:
· 52% less likely to skip a day of school
· 37% less likely to skip a class
· 55% more likely to enroll in college or career training
· 130% more likely to hold leadership positions
Young people who were at risk for falling off track but had a mentor were, according to data from Mentoring.org (2018):
· 46% less likely to use drugs
· 27% less likely to start drinking alcohol
· 78% more likely to volunteer regularly
· 81% more likely to participate in sports or extracurricular activities