NEWARK, N.J. – Nearly 100 people gathered at the Dr. Marion Bolden Center on Monday morning to discuss the importance of active listening when working with students, establishing trust, and being present when called upon.
The participants weren’t professional counselors. They were students from across the high schools participating in the Office of Mentoring Services’ first Peer Mentorship Summit, produced in partnership with Mentor Newark. Most were upperclassmen preparing to mentor ninth graders navigating the transition to high school.
“We’re building a family of peer mentorship among our students,” said Jermaine Blount, Director of the Office of Peer Mentorship. “The goal is to build best practices throughout the entire school district so that every school has a high-quality peer mentorship program.”
Each participating student was recommended by their school’s principal and approved by district administration. In his remarks to the group, Superintendent León said the students at the summit reflected strong leadership within their schools. The mission of the peer mentorship program, he said, is to help students discover their own leadership potential, and to provide a catalyst for all other student leaders in all of our high schools.
“As mentors, you have a responsibility to let them know that there’s a voice that’s there for them — and that it’s to help magnify their own voice,” Superintendent León said.
Most of the day’s activities were led by students with prior peer mentoring experience, including panel discussions that explored challenges mentors may encounter.
Ahmir Davis, a senior at the Newark School of Data Science & Information Technology, noted that time management can be difficult.
“You have to be a role model in order to lead somebody else,” he said. “You have to make sure that you’re in a place that a freshman would want to look up to and that you’re on task for everything you may need to do.”
Confidentiality also prompted discussion when Precious Akinyele, an Arts High School senior, asked whether there were situations in which a mentor should share information from a mentee with an adult.
Alisha Lee, also a senior at Arts High School, offered clear guidelines.
“When a mentee is showing signs that they want to potentially hurt themselves or somebody else, or if there may be an issue at home,” Lee said, “that’s when it needs to be taken to a higher authority.”
Jaylenne Calo, an Arts High School junior, added additional perspective.
“You are there to help but not solve all of their problems. It’s important that you know that,” Calo said.
When asked how mentors can earn a mentee’s trust, Davis spoke to the value of empathy and connection.
“The most important thing is that you treat your mentee how you wanted to be treated when you were an underclassman,” Davis said. “You have to try to connect with them almost as if they were a younger brother or sister. Be the kind of person they would want to speak to.”
Calo agreed and encouraged patience.
“Don’t pressure them to open up. Everything happens with time,” she said. “You don’t want them to be like you. You want them to be better than you. As a peer mentor, you want your mentee to know what to do right and what they should steer away from. That can also help them to be a peer mentor themselves.”
“When young people step up to guide their peers, they create a school community where every student feels seen, supported, and empowered,” said Board of Education President Hasani K. Council. “I am proud of these mentors and grateful for the principals and staff who are committed to this work. Their leadership today is shaping the leaders our city will rely on tomorrow.”