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What is school-based Big Brothers Big Sisters?
A mentoring program that pairs a “Big” with a “Little.” It is not specifically a tutoring program because we like the approach to be well-rounded to help the child in all areas of life including self confidence, social skills, etc. Unlike our community-based program, these matches only have in-person contact at school.
When do they meet and what do they do?
They meet once a week for a minimum of a ½ hour. With our other high school partnerships, this has occurred during the high school Big’s lunch/homeroom/advisement period, etc. They meet at a designated location at the elementary school. We encourage them to do a variety of activities including reading, playing games, coloring, etc. We can provide suggestions for them as well.
Who are the “Bigs”? How are they enrolled?
At least 16 years old and ideally able to commit to 2 school years. It works best to recruit sophomores who are 16 or turning 16 over the summer months going into their junior year. Each potential Big will complete an application that includes parental permission. The Big will then complete an orientation and interview with BBBS enrollment staff. Background checks and reference checks are conducted and the Big also receives volunteer training which is completed online.
Who are the “Littles”? How are they enrolled?
We enroll children to be “Littles” beginning at age 5 and up to the age of 12 to be matched with a high school Big. A child application is completed by the parent to give permission and indicate preferences for a volunteer.
How are they matched?
We do our best to take into consideration preferences, interests, and strengths/weaknesses to make the matches as successful as possible. All parties approve the potential match before it is made. A time is scheduled to do the introduction match meeting at the elementary school. The parent is invited, but not required to attend.
What happens after they are matched?
The “Big” and “Little” will continue to meet once a week at the determined time, ideally the same day and time each week. BBBS provides continual “match support” over the life of the match. The school-based match support specialist will meet with the “Bigs” and “Littles” once a month for about 5-10 minutes to make sure that the match is successful. These are called match support contacts. This occurs at a different time than the matches meet so as not to disrupt their time together. We can complete these contacts during lunch or other free periods so as not to take them out of classroom time.
I want to be a Big. Now what?
First step is to complete and turn in an application. We will contact you about the rest of the enrollment process once we receive the application. Ideally, we want enrollment to be completed before the beginning of the school year.
More Information: https://bbbswishoreline.org/
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