Creating Pathways for Youth in Temporary Housing

NYC Department of Education

Overview:

The Sankofa Mentoring Program, a transformative initiative, strives to uplift students in temporary housing within New York City schools. It has evolved from a pilot to a multifaceted program, impacting student attendance and overall well-being significantly.

Addressing Challenges:

The adversities faced by students in temporary housing, especially amidst the COVID-19 disruptions, called for a new solution. Sankofa, building upon the foundations of the SIMBA and ASET programs, aimed to mitigate the attendance disparity and provide holistic support.

The Pilot & Its Learnings:

Initiated in three schools, the 10-week pilot, led by 12 mentors, focused on mentoring, incentive-based coaching, and resource connectivity. The outcomes were promising, enhancing student-school-family bonds and increasing attendance by 3% through empowered learning approaches. It was also one of the only programs in NYC to drive these outcomes for students in temporary housing, specifically.

Program Expansion & Innovative Models:

Post the successful pilot, Sankofa expanded its reach to eight schools, benefiting 170 students. With refined mentorship models and collaborations, it offered a spectrum of services tailored to student needs, and its iterative design allowed for continued adaptability and growth. In the second year we focused on:

Crediblity: All of the mentors we hired had lived experience in temporay housing – providing a foudnation of authenticity for the relationship mentors formed with their students.

Training: We doubled down on the mentor trainign model with weekly communtiies fo learning and new coaching supports for mentors to continue to refine their indivudal approaches and share best practices.

Experimentation: The mentor models at each of our schools varied slightly in the integration and deployment of the program. It allowed for continuous improvement of the program to drive better outcomes over all.

Results & Future Directions:

Launched in 2022, Sankofa, now supporting nearly 300 students, serves as a pioneering measure of school connectedness and a symbol of transformative educational methodologies. Funded by the Department of Education’s COVID-19 relief fund, it not only impacted the students but also enhanced operational capacities, generated jobs, and closed a substantial program gap in NYC, with visions for future expansions.

Conclusion:

The journey of the Sankofa Mentoring Program is a beacon of innovative education, showcasing how thoughtful program design and a focus on connectedness can lead to transformative impacts, empowering students in temporary housing to overcome challenges and succeed academically.