Workshop Descriptions, Friday, November 4, 2011

Workshop, Panel & Keynote Descriptions:

 

 

Workshop Descriptions below include "working titles" for many of the presentations. Each workshop is offered by people who volunteer their time and talent. Thank you! Please use the Tutor/Mentor Connection on-line forum to continue talking about ideas discussed in these workshops.

If you would like to present a workshop at the May or November 2012 conference please use this form to submit an idea.

 

9:40am-10:45am

 

Challenges of Non Profits - Panel Discussion of Tutor/Mentor Program Executive Directors, focusing on Fundraising in difficult times, Managing a small NPO, Emergency management of an NPO.

Panel includes:  Jen Sontag, Executive Director, East Village Youth Program,

Natasha Smith, Interim Executive Director, Working in the Schools

Phil Jackson, Executive Director, The Black Star Project

Moderated by Jordan Hestermann, Executive Director of Becoming We the People

 

City as Classroom: an interactive workshop, presented by Eric Davis, Founder/Director, Global Citizenship Experience High School
"City as Classroom" guides participants through the process of extending authentic learning experiences beyond classrooms and into communities. Applying GCE's Field Experience Template, the workshop explores the process of preparing students for off-campus, urban exposures that transform the learning experience of students. The workshop also describes strategies for building vital out-of-school partnerships.

 

Best Practices: Recruitment and Engagement, presented by Racquel Fields, Garrick Charles and Eboni Prince-Currie, Program Specialists with After School Matters
After School Matters will present a conference session on "Best Practices: Recruitment and Engagement" from out-of-school time programming that other program providers will be able to tailor towards there own programming needs.

The session is intended to serve program instructors and providers who lead, instruct and oversee out-of-school time programs. The session will identify best practices for successful recruitment, engaging older youth in out-of-school programs, and common trends associated with youth programs.

Participants will understand how strong recruitment, high level of engagement, high enrollment and high attendance rates merge to create successful high quality programs.
 

 

Using National Service to Expand Your Program. Hosted by Scott McFarland, Illinois Commission on Volunteering and Community Service
This session is intended for program leaders who might be interested in using National Service to support their program. The session will start with a brief overview of Learn and Serve, AmeriCorps, and Senior Corps presented by Scott McFarland. The session will then move into a panel format, facilitated by Scott McFarland, where each of the Members present will give a brief description of their program and what they do on a daily basis. The audience will then be able to ask questions of the panel.  The panel (which is being finalized now) will include Member from AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs that work with either students during the school days, students in after-school programs, or adults.

 

Nurturing the Art of Self-Learning, presented by Andrius Kulikauskas, Self Learners Network
We ask ourselves 12 questions that help us grow forever (What is your deepest value? What question do you seek to answer?...) We then consider art projects that invite others to explore with us deep ideas in Math and other subjects they wish to learn. 

This workshop is for all who wish for a culture of learning, growing, living forever, here and now.
We consider ourselves, adult self-learners, as central for a culture of learning forever and living forever. In contrast, our current education system focuses on preparing children for an adulthood in which learning become less central as we grow older.

We take up 12 questions which Andrius Kulikauskas asked as he organized independent thinkers around the world for his online laboratory, Minciu Sodas.

1. What do you care about? How would you introduce yourself to a person who is interested in you but knows nothing about you?
2. Do you care about thinking? How do you rule or shape yourself and your thinking as well?
3. What do you value? What is your deepest value in life which includes all of your other values?
4. What do you seek to know? What is a question that you don't know the answer to, but wish to answer? (There may be several.)
5. What do you wish to achieve? Your endeavors.
6. Would you think out loud? What do you wish to contribute to the commons? What part of your thinking might you share freely, openly, in the Public Domain?
7. Where do you think best? How do you think best? What is your preferred way of thinking?
8. What is your dream in life? What would you wish for, especially what role would you like to play in life, if there were no obstacles?
9. How can we help each other? What kind of help would you like to give to others? and get from others?
10. What do you truly know about? What matters do you think yourself an authority on?
11. What lessons can you share? What are some concrete ideas / patterns / questions that you wish to contribute to our culture?
12. What do you know of God? What do you infer or suppose about how this world is set up, how it works?
 

The 12 questions become relevant as we grow as learners. We note the cultural values inherent in them.
We then consider how to reach out to the vast majority of adults and youths who struggle as self-learners. How can we engage them and encourage them?

Andrius Kulikauskas presents two 9' x 6' Learning Canvases that he created to illustrate deep ideas. One of them shows the system of vowel sounds. Another showcases the key ideas in basic Math. We discuss how art opens us up for learning.

We share what we ourselves would like to learn or teach. We consider what art projects might explore and illustrate the deep ideas and classic problems in these subjects.

We conclude with thoughts on a network of Learning Clubs. A learning coach could serve dozens of families, meeting once a month with each family to make a study plan, leading group meetings at different locations where we help each other learn, and being in touch by phone, email, chat and web

 

11:00am-12:00pm

 

Improving Your Board Of Directors, presented by Raja Baptiste, RNB Consulting Services. The workshop will focus on the creation and development of a Board of Directors which will enable an agency to grow and sustain its mission through the years.

 

The Right Mentoring Option for the Right Mentor, presented by Sue Sowle, Project SOAR at McGaw YMCA.   Description of four different models of mentoring developed to fit different types of volunteers. This workshop will explore the four models and their evolution as well as discuss ways to problem solve when a good mentor doesn't fit your program design.

 

What Results Story Can You Tell, presented by Debra Natenshon, CEO, The Center for What Works
There is a clear need to focus on outcomes for the kids we serve, yet defining success and specific targets remains elusive to many smaller tutoring and mentoring organizations. Join this hour long discussion on results. You'll leave with a clearer understanding of how to define success and set targets for your key clients.

This session is for executive directors, program directors and board members of tutoring and mentoring organizations. The take-aways will not only be the importance of quantifying a result-story, but include some tactical ways to measure success over time.

 

Faith-Based Youth Mentoring & Personal Development, discussion led by Steve Braxton, Program Manager-Mentorship & Jobs at Lawndale Christian Legal Center and Mitchel Scholar, Faith-based leader, Minister and lead Coordinator for Lamp-a youth mentoring. 
This workshop is intended to heightened the awareness and give insights, wisdom and knowledge about how to impact the life of young people in positive ways. This initiative is intended to give the youth a new positive spin on how to cope with hopelessness-build confidence by exposing them to new knowledge that will prepare, equip, and empower them to ascribe to the longevity of life and that they will strive to reach their full development for growth and ultimate professionalism-to pursue their professional-status they are intended to become. Attendees can be community leaders, youth advocates, social workers, mentors , life coaches from both the secular areas and the faith-based communities.

 

12:00pm-12:45pm

Lunch and Networking

 

12:50pm-1:30pm

Afternoon Keynote:

Tramaine Montel Ford, actor, New York City. Alumni of tutor/mentor program in Chicago. Tramaine will show how his first taste of acting was with the Cabrini Connections tutor/mentor program in Chicago. http://www.thetramaineexperience.com/

Building Business and Professional Support for Tutor/Mentor Programs throughout an Urban Area, presented by Daniel Cotter, Chair of the Executive Committee of Layers Lend  A Hand to Youth

Mr. Cotter will talk of the way lawyers have built the Lend A Hand Program and raise more than $2.5 million for tutor/mentor program. Show that this could happen in other industries and that in a May conference we could be giving recognition for what is happening in various industries in similar ways to how LAH gives recognition to people in the legal community during their annual lunch. 

Collective Action-Planning Ahead. National Mentoring Month, May 2012, presented by Daniel F. Bassill, President of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and Tutor/Mentor Connection. Bassill's presentation will focus attention on events and actions taking place from December 2011 through May 2012 that create opportunities for tutor/mentor programs and supporters to work collectively to expand the resources available to support each volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring program operating in Chicago. 

 

1:40pm-2:50pm
 

Volunteer and Student Recruitment, Training, and Weekly Support, Panel Discussion.  Panel includes
Joel Newman, Director of Community Partnerships, Big Brothers Big Sister of Mississippi Valley

Sarah Bird, East Village Youth Program

Christy Beighe-Byrne, Director of Mentor and Volunteer Services, Chicago Youth Centers

 

Whitney Capps, Teen Program Manager at Step Up Women's Network in Chicago.

 

 

Understanding and Applying Elements of Effective Practice of MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership. Presented by Dr. Clara Carter, former Director of Training for the Maryland Mentoring Partnership. Learn more about Dr. Carter.
Mentoring partnerships and organization across the country are united behind a common set of standards for high quality mentoring programs. These are called the Elements of Effective Practice. http://www.mentoring.org/program_resources/elements_and_toolkits

Developing an effective and sustainable mentoring program requires a commitment to follow evidence-based practices. Using the national standards, "Elements of Effective Practice", this workshop will provide the participants with the rigorous guidelines, tools, and tips to ensure the construction of a solid program that includes planning, management, operations and evaluation. Whether new to mentoring or a seasoned veteran, the material covered will offer proven guidelines to allow the participants to gain the necessary tools to develop a mentoring initiative, fine-tune current practices and policies, or strengthen the mentoring program operations.

 

Engaging Tutors, Volunteers, Parents, and Teachers, presented by Jordan Hesterman, Executive Director of Becoming We the People

This workshop will give participants tools for better communication with tutors, volunteers and teachers. It will include a discussion of ways to engage different stakeholders, build their involvement and retain them longer.

Implementing Mentoring STEM Enrichment Programs,  presented by Bernard Key, technologist, Key Link Technologies, Winnie Davis Key, and Lt. Calvin Young of the National Guard.   This workshop will discuss how to incorporate Technology and STEM enrichment and mentoring initiatives in schools, faith based, park districts and other community organizations. Winnie Davis Key will discuss the best practice of implementing volunteer tutor mentoring programs in faith based organizations. We will discuss the volunteer tutoring after school model that we implemented at Victory Apostolic Church of God.

3:00pm-4:45pm

Second Afternoon Workshop Sessions
 

Public Relations for the Nonprofit Organizations, presented by Natalie Wahlberg, Director of Public Relations, Becoming We the People. This session will include a how-to guide for writing dynamic promotional material, disseminating it through social and print media, and maintaining a social media presence.

Building better data and understanding, a discussion hosted by Bart Phillips, President of CB Tutors. 
The session will focus on how we (Community Building Tutors, Tutor/Mentor Connection, and other collaborators) are working together to build a web-based data collection and reporting tool that will benefit participating tutoring/mentoring program. After a brief introduction and background, participants of the workshop will work together to define a small but meaningful set of data points that can be collected on tutoring/mentoring programs on a periodic basis. It will be important to define the data points with a mind to meaningful reporting that can lead to enhanced understanding around best practices for tutoring and mentoring programs. Workshop participants will also discuss optimal strategies for marketing the participation in this initiative and how to incentivize participation in this data collection initiative. Lastly, the workshop attendees will layout a timeline for the rollout of this new initiative.

 

A Positive Approach to Mentoring Urban Youth, presented by Guillermo Gutierrez, B.U.I.L.D, Inc. Participants will have an understanding of Urban Culture. Through this understanding the group will identify individual and institutional assets allowing them to take on an asset based approach to the interaction with youth as they mentor them from the margins to the main stream.

This workshop is geared toward anyone who wants an understanding of the theory and practice on an Asset Based Approach. This workshop is an interactive workshop that will include Icebreakers, Group Interaction and Circle reflection. Individuals will receive information on how to utilize an Asset Based Approaches when interacting and mentoring youth. Participants will identify personal assets and gain an understanding of Positive Youth development as well as how to implement it into practice.
 

 

On-line Tutor/Mentor Connection Community
Join in and continue to share ideas and build relationships before and after the conference. http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com

Workshop and Conference Planning:
The T/MC invites participants to think of the conference as a meeting place where they can bring a group who is interested in creating more tutor/mentor programs in a specific region or in a specific focus area (such as health careers, technology, arts, etc.).  We encourage you to join on-line forums and help planning the conference and other T/MC actions. If you would like to organize a single workshop, or a conference within the conference, please contact us online or connect with Dan Bassill on Skype at "dbassill".