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OFE News Release

Foundation to Sponsor Workshop on How to Establish a Mentoring Program

March 13, 2007
The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence will present a full-day workshop titled “How to Establish a Mentoring Program” on Tuesday, May 1, at the Putnam City Center, 5604 N.W. 41st St., in Oklahoma City. Registration for the event begins at 8:30 a.m., with the workshop scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The foundation, through its David & Molly Boren Mentoring Initiative, is sponsoring the workshop to provide school districts, local education foundations, community organizations and individuals with the tools necessary to establish safe and effective mentoring programs. Those interested in registering for the workshop can download a registration form at www.okmentors.org. Registration, including lunch and materials, is $50.

Melynda Stone, director of the Volunteers for Youth Program of Claremore, and Michelle Middleton, director of the El Reno Public Schools’ Side-by-Side Mentoring Program, will conduct the workshop. Topics include needs assessment, creating a mission statement, program design, establishing policies and procedures, creating a financial plan, marketing and program implementation and evaluation.

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 by then-U.S. Sen. David L. Boren, recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools. In 2005, the foundation launched the Boren Mentoring Initiative to promote the growth and development of school-based mentoring statewide. The initiative grew out of Boren’s own commitment to mentoring and the proven impact that mentoring can play on a student’s success in and out of the classroom.

“Think what would happen if all children in Oklahoma had mentors – someone to spend time with them, to tutor them, to love them,” Boren said. “Think how it would transform this state? It would be truly revolutionary!”

Through the mentoring initiative, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is working with school districts and its network of 199 public school foundations to promote mentoring as a positive step toward academic excellence. The foundation is also providing training and networking opportunities for new and established mentoring programs, and encouraging programs to follow established standards for safe and effective practice.

For more information on the workshop, visit www.okmentors.org or call Boren Mentoring Initiative Director Jennifer Geren at (405) 410-1523.