February 7, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
NEW BOOKS
Making a Difference in Schools: The Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Impact Study, by Carla Herrera, Jean Baldwin Grossman, Tina J. Kauh, Amy F. Feldman, and Jennifer McMaken, with Linda Z. Jucovy, reports on this mentoring program’s effectiveness in schools. Focusing on 10 Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations in nine states, the publication finds that the program does improve students’ academic performance and behavior. The study also looked at how much it costs to provide mentors for students as well as what factors influence student outcomes, how the mentors are trained, and how these programs can be improved. For example, the report recommends that mentors maintain contact with students during summer breaks and that Big Brothers Big Sisters do more to help mentors strengthen their relationships with youngsters.
Publisher: Public/Private Ventures, 2000 Market Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; (215) 557-4400; fax (215) 557-4469; http://www.ppv.org; 125 pages; $10, or available free for download on Public/Private Ventures’ Web site.
