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.
“I believe that sharing my story, and inviting others to share their stories, is one of the most powerful things I can do. I want to encourage kids with learning disabilities to be proud and dream big. To think that I am able to change lives is really such a dream come true.”
Eye to Eye Honorary Diplomat
"It is inspiring to see an organization like Eye to Eye help students who have learning differences reach their full potential and feel empowered."
Operations and Human Resources Team
"Working at Eye to Eye is such a fun, collaborative, and encouraging experience! We have ambitious goals as an organization, but Eye to Eye provides so much support for the team to achieve greatness."
Eye to Eye, Development Department
We are in cities all over the country. Browse our chapters and find one local to you.