Take Stock In Children mentor Jim Smith meets with junior Darin Redick at Pensacola High School Thursday December
10, 2015 in Pensacola, Florida. Smith has been a mentor to Redick for 5 years. (Michael Spooneybarger/ CREO)

More students than ever are finishing high school and gaps in achievements among racial groups are closing.

Some of the credit for the academic success goes to mentoring.

In Escambia County, the 2015 graduation rate rose to 72.7 percent, a 6.6 percentage point increase over the previous year.

Graduation rates increased significantly among black students, climbing to 61.8, an increase of more than 17 percentage points since 2010.

Across the nation graduation rates have been rising since 2002. U.S. public schools in 2014 recorded a four-year graduation rate of 82 percent, an all-time high.

High school graduation is a highly touted measurement because it typically leads to higher pay, and places with a more-educated populace have greater productivity and economic growth.

But for the students who don’t graduate high school, having a caring adult in their life might have made a difference.

Mentoring is considered an effective strategy to keep at-risk high school students from dropping out and helping them succeed in life.

Given the increased focus on high school graduation rates and workforce readiness, mentoring in high school has gained increased attention as a critical component in helping young people as they go through the challenging life transition.

Studies show that children who have at least one consistent, caring adult in their lives are less likely to drop out of school or get in trouble with the law.

They are better prepared to build strong relationships with their families than those without that positive influence.

When it comes to helping young people succeed, education experts and nonprofits are embracing the idea that a broad web of formal and informal role models is key, according to an article in Atlantic magazine.

Alyza Sebenius in “The Importance of High-School Mentors,” writes:

Serious risks like homelessness, suspension, early parenthood, and a lack of academic confidence threaten to derail poor, young Americans on their path toward high-school graduation. And a growing body of research—including a study last year by America’s Promise Alliance, which found that students with social support are more likely to re-engage with school in the face of adversity—suggest that the United States should invest broadly in mentorship.

Mentoring — which typically involves a one-to-one, supportive relationship between a student and an adult — has been linked with positive outcomes.

They include such things as improved connection to school and adults, lower dropout indicators and higher achievement.

“Just as the federal government can see something like health care as a basic need, mentoring should be that, too,” said David Shapiro, the CEO of The National Mentoring Partnership, a founding partner of America’s Promise Alliance that, among other things, advocates for federal funding. “Having consistent support, outside home is essential.”

Across the nation graduation rates have been rising since 2002. U.S. public schools in 2014 recorded a four-year graduation rate of 82 percent, an all-time high.

High school graduation is a highly touted measurement because it typically leads to higher pay, and places with a more-educated populace have greater productivity and economic growth.

In Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, eligible middle and highs students can take advantage of a statewide program that matches mentors with students from low-income families.

Since 1995, Take Stock in Children has been a way for low-income and at-risk students to break the cycle of poverty through education.

Hundreds of students have used the scholarships and the services of mentors to help them earn a college degree.

Students who complete the Take Stock in Children program by maintaining at least a 2.5 grade point average, meeting citizenship and attendance requirements and staying out trouble at school and home, earn an $8,400 college scholarship.

The Florida Prepaid Foundation matches the donations to the program dollar for dollar. In the two-county area, 255 students have benefited from the Take Stock program to attend college and improve their career options.

The mentoring program has shown great success, as 97 percent of local students in the program graduate high school, compared to the overall district graduation rate of 72 percent and the state graduation rate of 77 percent.

The statewide graduation rate for at-risk who aren’t in Take Stock is 61 percent.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida is another mentoring program that has demonstrated proven success in helping young people in school and in life.

According to data from Big Brothers Big Sisters, of the students who are matched with a mentor for six months or more:

•  83 percent maintained or improved academic performance; 87 percent improved or maintained attendance.
•  82 percent were promoted to the next grade level.
•  91 percent completed individual case plan goals.

Helping children reach their full potential through mentoring can lead to positive community outcomes like a reduction in poverty and unemployment, safer schools and neighborhoods and a new generation of civic-minded adults.

Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, eligible middle and highs students can take advantage of a statewide program that matches mentors with students from low-income families.

Since 1995, Take Stock in Children has been a way for low-income and at-risk students to break the cycle of poverty through education.

Hundreds of students have used the scholarships and the services of mentors to help them earn a college degree.

Students who complete the Take Stock in Children program by maintaining at least a 2.5 grade point average, meeting citizenship and attendance requirements and staying out trouble at school and home, earn an $8,400 college scholarship.

The Florida Prepaid Foundation matches the donations to the program dollar for dollar. In the two-county area, 255 students have benefited from the Take Stock program to attend college and improve their career options.

The mentoring program has shown great success, as 97 percent of local students in the program graduate high school, compared to the overall district graduation rate of 72 percent and the state graduation rate of 77 percent.

The statewide graduation rate for at-risk students who aren’t in Take Stock is 61 percent.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida is another mentoring program that has demonstrated prowess in helping young people succeed n school and in life.

According to data from Big Brothers Big Sisters, of the students who are matched with a mentor for six months or more:

• 83 percent maintained or improved academic performance; 87 percent improved or maintained attendance.
• 82 percent were promoted to the next grade level.
• 91 percent completed individual case plan goals.

Helping children reach their full potential through mentoring can lead to positive community outcomes like a reduction in poverty and unemployment, safer schools and neighborhoods and a new generation of civic-minded adults.

Sebenius in The Atlantic highlights the increased attention on mentoring, but points out that more mentors are needed to meet the demand:

Formal mentorship is currently supported by philanthropy and federal agencies including the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Corporation for National and Community Service. In the fiscal year 2015, OJJDP granted $90 million to mentoring organizations to support at-risk youth across the country—a sum sufficient to cover hundreds of thousands of students but not sufficient for need.