For some students, maybe for the first time, they learn what community is like without judgment, without stigma. Mentees meet a brighter version of their future: it’s there in the room. Students can talk about things that might be uncomfortable in front of a teacher or parent. Over the course of the year, through the arc of our proven social-emotional curriculum, self-doubt transforms into empowerment.
Our Mentees develop metacognition skills, build self-esteem, identify strengths and challenges, find their allies, and learn to self-advocate. Our proven curriculum utilizes art, where there are no right or wrong answers, as a tool of self-expression. Every project and activity in our unified 18-week curriculum centers on a specific social-emotional learning objective. Every lesson builds on the previous, moving students from self-doubt to empowerment.
With empathy and purpose, our Mentors and Mentees grow together, shaping skills that help students transition to the next stages of education, work, and life. Eye to Eye carefully selects, screens, and trains Chapter Leaders and Mentors for each school site. Chapter Leaders receive a full week of training each summer at the Young Leaders Organizing Institute at Brown University, and Eye to Eye staff train Mentors year-round across the country.
We have an established setup and training process supported by our National Program Coordinators (NPC). One of our NPCs oversees each school site, and stays in close contact with Chapter Leaders, Chapter Advisors, and Mentee School Sponsors.
At Eye to Eye, we have a mantra of “more students, more schools”. Today, we are excited to share with you a plan that will enable us to reach hundreds of thousands of identified middle schoolers while continuing to grow our national movement of young leaders. Together this will create a more equitable school system.
Founder and Chief Empowerment Officer
There is no greater feeling than coming to work every day knowing that each and every person around you cares deeply about the mission we serve; to help the 1 in 5 who learn differently reach their full potential.
“Working for an organization that commends thinking differently is amazing! Eye to Eye implores its staff to get creative in our roles; all the while offering the tools to succeed and opportunities to learn/grow.”
Eye to Eye, National Program Coordinator
Mentees make great strides in their social-emotional abilities.
Felt better about themselves after working with a Mentor
Reported that their Mentor was the kind of student they wanted to be
Reported that their Mentors helped them to think about their future positively
Mentees aren’t the only ones to benefit.
Felt that being part of Eye to Eye made them better self-advocates
Agreed or strongly agreed that Eye to Eye helped them to think about their own learning style and metacognitive skills
Strongly agreed that being part of Eye to Eye helped them think differently about their strengths
We are in cities all over the country. Browse our chapters and find one local to you.
