ACES for $1,000: E-mentoring program is in full swing!

Our summer e-mentoring program is in full swing and ACES all-stars are practicing reading and writing and growing their confidence and commitment with the help of some awesome mentors! Each student is paired with an adult mentor with whom they correspond via email on a weekly basis, with support from ACES academic coaches. Guided by prompts from ACES’s social-emotional learning curriculum, students and mentors discuss topics like overcoming challenges, balancing responsibilities, and working hard to achieve goals.

ACES student, Christian, thinks it’s pretty cool that his mentor, Bob, appeared on Jeopardy! Here’s what Bob shared with Christian about the experience:

I had been part of my high school's team on a quiz show in high school and then in college (a show called College Bowl). I am one of those folks who remember stuff easily. I have always liked to learn dates and names of famous people and other trivia. Some of my friends encouraged me to try for "Jeopardy!", and so I did.

As we return to in-person learning, it is more important than ever that students have access to positive, mentoring relationships and connection with others. Research shows that social-emotional learning through positive relationships with mentors can be transformative. Students who participate in programs that intentionally build their social-emotional skills demonstrate increased academic performance, improved classroom behavior, and display more positive attitudes about school. We are grateful to the ACES e-mentors who are helping students head into the 2021-22 school year with boost of confidence.