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Agenda - Thursday and Friday May 27th and 28th, 2010 - Two Day Conference

Below is the schedule of workshops for the Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference which will be held at Loyola University on May 27 and 28, 2010.   If you'd like to present a workshop at a future conference, or be part of one of the tutor/mentor program panels, such as described below, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss your involvement.  
 

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Registration - 8:00 am to 9:00 am

9:00 am to 9:30 am:  Keynote and welcome:

Professor James Garbarino, Loyola University Chicago, author of "Lost Boys," on Violence and Young Men.

First workshops: 9:40 am to 10:50 am - 

Thinking Outside the Box: Creative Ways to Foster Youth Development - Presented by Katie Cusack and Sandy Reyes, Gads Hill Center

Thinking Outside the Box will provide an overview of effective, dynamic, and innovative activities that engage youth in furthering their social and academic development all while helping to strengthen the mentor/mentee relationship.

The workshop is geared towards mentors, tutors, teachers, and anyone who works or volunteers with youth.
 

How the Media Treats Violence, presented by Azam Ahmed and Kristin Mack, Chicago Tribune, Tracy Swartz, Red Eye reporter and Phillip Thompson, The Mash
Longtime reporters will talk about the challenges of writing about violence, especially of high school students.  Attendees will learn about the thought process of how a reporter covers violence against a student. How does the reporter decide who to talk to? How does the reporter decide what to focus on? How does the reporter approach a subject?

Note: one suggestion from this workshop was that media web sites would have links to the Tutor/Mentor Connection Chicago Programs Links Library, which organizes programs by sections of the city and suburbs. Thus, when a reporter writes about an issue affecting youth in the north side of Chicago, he could point to this link, so readers could visit the web sites of programs in this area. If the programs are using blogs, video and other tools to show the "good things" happening, this can balance out the "lead if it bleeds" mentality of for-profit media.

Nonprofits: Time to get Mobile, presented by Brian Banks, Regional Manager, AdvaTEXT.com
83% of adults have cell phones or smartphones. 35% of users have accessed the Internet via their phone, according to a December 2009 report by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. So in times of natural disasters like the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti and affected more then two million people, can a mobile strategy help raise money in times of crisis?

Explore the issues around nonprofits collecting cell phone numbers in the marketing battle to reach constituents everywhere.

View the handout of this presentation (pdf)

See short video of this presentation

Race, Language, and the Achievement Gap in America, presented by Michael Levesque, Executive Director, Leap Learning Systems

View PDF of this presentation

Ending Poverty Through Tutoring and Mentoring, presented by Jordan Hesterman, Founder, Becoming We the People.  This workshop will show the connection between tutoring/mentoring and helping to end poverty. Participants will leave the workshop with specific ways to connect their tutoring/mentoring skills to ending poverty. They will also come away with more networking skills to help them to help others.

View PDF of this presentation

Second workshops: 11:00 am to 12:15 pm 

How to Help Your Students Finance College.
Presented by Maria Bucio, Manager of Outreach and Professional Development, Illinois Student Assistance Commission
Yes, our students can go to college!  This interactive session will introduce you to ways to pay for college, trusted sources of information, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, and frequently asked questions.  At this can't miss session you will receive samples of ready-to-use printed materials and become aware of interactive tools on the Web to help families manage the cost of college.

Watch Video interview with Maria Bucio

How to Effectively Train Tutors by Partnering with Other Organizations that Serve the Same Population, Presented by Alex Cornwell, Director, Chicago Lights Tutoring and Summer Day at Fourth Presbyterian Church, and Erin McPartlin, Executive Director, Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program, Inc.

View pdf of this presentation.

The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee Education Initiative:  "A Remarkable Success Story," presented by Darrell Finch, Milwaukee Housing Authority

Learn how the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee’s Education Initiative was able to increase school attendance and graduation rates to 100% among low-income students by locating services within their housing developments and developing partnerships with the school system and other educational stakeholders. 

See PDF presentation from conference
This pdf points to a video, which you can see at http://www.wisn.com/video/21561757/index.html

The Education Initiative was the vision of the Housing Authority’s Executive Director, Tony Perez, who wanted to help kids in public housing stay in school.  He understood that minority children from low-income families have additional life challenges and are therefore at greater risk of dropping out, being unemployed and becoming involved with drugs and crime.  The intent was to improve school attendance and educational achievement among the youth who live in public housing developments. These goals would be accomplished through mentoring, afterschool programs, tutoring, monitoring grades and, perhaps most importantly, a commitment from the family.  This commitment came in the form of an innovative lease addendum, which requires Milwaukee public housing families with underage children to enroll in the Education Initiative.

This workshop is designed for mentors, tutors, volunteers, and caseworkers who mentor and tutor children towards success in school and life.   The workshop is also for Chicago Public Housing officials who might consider implementing the Education Initiative in public housing.  The presentation will focus on two fronts: (1) the revolutionary approach the HACM took to encourage parents to become more involved in the educational development of their children, and (2) how the Tutor/Mentor and Leadership Networking Conference has helped the HACM Education Initiative achieve its goals with youth.

The workshop will explore and encourage dialogue about children’s identity development.  Children don’t see the world as it is, they see they world as the are.  They naturally seek an identity, but in order to develop an identity they must first be able to identify with someone. The task is to help them identify with positive activities rather than negative activities related to gangs, criminal activity, or drugs.  The importance of mentoring and tutoring programs in this task can never be underestimated.  The Education Initiative’s intervention consists of asking students, “Who are you?” and “What do you want to accomplish in life?” to help them develop a “burning desire.”  We then implement this process:  Burning Desire + Goal + Plan + Realistic Objectives + Action = Success.  Achieving the goal is important, but our emphasis is placed on the preparation needed to reach the goal.

Getting Noticed: Promoting Your Message to Local Print Media. Panel Discussion moderated by Mary Gerace, Marketing and Publicity Consultant, Mary Gerace Enterprises

Panel includes:

Felicia Dechter, Columnist and Staff Writer, Skyline, 

Suzanne Hanney, Editor in Chief, Streetwise, http://www.streetwise.org/

Gabriel Piemonte, Editor, Hyde Park Herald

Jessica Pupovac, Freelance Journalist

This panel discussion will feature some of Chicago's top print media editors and journalists, and will provide you with important tips on how best to get their attention as you promote your mission, programming and events.

Note: one suggestion is that media web sites would have links to the Tutor/Mentor Connection Chicago Programs Links Library, which organizes programs by sections of the city and suburbs. Thus, when a reporter writes about an issue affecting youth in the north side of Chicago, he could point to this link, so readers could visit the web sites of programs in this area. If the programs are using blogs, video and other tools to show the "good things" happening, this can balance out the "lead if it bleeds" mentality of for-profit media.
 

Lunch & Networking - 12: 15 pm - 1:30 pm

12:50pm to 1:15 pm - Keynote Speaker

Youth Brain Development and Literacy, Presented by Catherine Gottfred, Founder, LEAP Learning Systems. http://www.leaplearningsystems.org/

 

First Afternoon workshops: 1:45 to 3:00pm - 

Achieving More Effective Tutoring and Mentoring, presented by Cynthia Townsend, author of From the Temple to the Classroom
Tutoring/Mentoring service involves six components; the meeting place, the client, the caregiver, preparation, administrative duties and emotions. Participants will be given practical insight regarding these various components of tutoring/mentoring. Consideration of these insights will lead to better effectiveness with and stewardship of those they are serving.

Student Recruitment Panel Discussion. Where do programs recruit students? How do they build regular participation, parent and school involvement? Facilitated by Kathy Anderson - Wicker Park Learning Center

Dorothy Mars, Anthony Davis, and Antonio Thomas - Firman Community Services

LaDawn Norwood - YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

Ruphina Pettis, Sunlight African Community Center

The panel will talk about various ways to recruit students. The most important message she will share is that being open to the needs of the students helps a lot in recruitment as well as keeping students and getting additional students.

Engaging Athletes, Business Leaders and Celebrities as Advocates for Volunteer Based Tutor/Mentor Programs, panel discussion
In this panel discussion current and former college and professional athletes will discuss ways to draw attention and support to volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs throughout a large metropolitan area,  and ways that they might work together to build more consistent year-round support of all tutor/mentor programs in their host city.  College and professional athletes and coaches are encouraged to attend.

This PDF illustrates how Kurt Kittner, University of Illinois and NFL quarterback, draws attention to Cabrini Connections, and other tutor/mentor programs in Chicago. 

Facilitated by Steve Miller, Panel members:

Kurt Kittner, University of Illinois and NFL Quarterback, associate with Jones Lang LaSalle, Americas.  Commentator with Illinois Football broadcasts on WIND (560 AM) radio.

El Da'Sheon Nix, Northwestern University Football and current Administrative Coordinator of Cabrini Connections

Tutor-Mentor, SocialEdge and the internet -- a Vision, presented by Charles Cameron, Social Edge
We explore how the internet facilitates increasing levels of connection: from single resources available via Google, through blogs and discussion sites like SocialEdge, to the possibilities of multi-blog, cross-site conversations -- building awareness of each other, trust, and eventually friendship, to yield rich possible collaborations and joint ventures.

View PDF of presentation given at this conference.

Second Afternoon workshops:  3:15:pm to 4:30pm

"Born Leaders" are a Myth: Teaching Leadership - Presented by Jordan Hestermann, Founder of Becoming We the People.
This workshop will show participants that leadership is not just a talent some are born with, but is instead a skill to be learned. Participants will come away from the workshop with specific things they can do to be better leaders and specific skills for helping others develop leadership abilities.

View PDF of this workshop

Creating your own neighborhood Maps, Presented by Mike Trakan, GIS Map Developer, of Tutor/Mentor Connection, http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com
The speaker will also show how local programs, youth groups, students in service-learning classes, and journalists with local media, can create maps like Mike uses on his blog, to draw attention and resources to tutor/mentor programs in neighborhoods where more are needed.  Come with one or two addresses that you would like to map, and you'll leave knowing how you can create a blog article, with your map included. 

It Takes a Village - Partnering with Others, Presented by Sue Sowle, Social Worker, Project SOAR - McGaw YMCA, Evanston, IL
Effective programs can and should partner with others.  This workshop will focus on how to decide which partnerships are worth pursing, which are not and how to create and maintain healthy and happy partnerships with other stakeholders in the community.


Connecting Millennials: Building Relationships with our Students, Presented by Alexandria Taylor, Associated Colleges of Illinois
The changing dynamics from one generation to the next impacts our communication and learning styles.  To build relationships with students, we must understand the way they receive and internalize information.  We will discuss how to best connect with the Millennials by exploring their unique characteristics and bridging the intergenerational gap.

 

Friday, May 28, 2010

Registration - 8:00 am to 9:00 am

9:00 am to 9:30 am:  Keynote and welcome:

The Breakthrough Network Model - no superstars needed, Presented by Bill Curry, Chief Operations Officer, Breakthrough Urban Ministries, http://www.breakthrough.org

Often youth leaders feel the pressure to be everything to every student. The pressures are great, so finding ways to share the burden and the joy is important for a youth leader to last in the field.  The Breakthrough Network Model suggests an innovative approach to growing mentoring relationships among a community of students and community of volunteers.  This interactive workshop could be a significant breakthrough for you and the kids you serve.

View PDF of this presentation

View Video showing the Breakthrough Model

First workshops: 9:40 am to 10:50 am - 
 

Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Workshop Panel Discussion
Panel discussion led by leaders of tutoring and/or mentoring programs.  Leaders share strategies for recruiting volunteers from businesses, universities, professional groups who serve as tutors/mentors, and as board members, technology support, organizers, and capacity builders.
- Moderated by Nicole White, Tutor/Mentor Connection,

Panelists -

Toinette Gunn, PEAK (Partnership to Educate and Advance Kids)

Adrienne Rainey and Chris Word, Dream Big Foundation, Missouri

Marilyn Rodgers-Danos - Mental Health Court System Association of Illinois

Metacognition:  Learning about Learning, presented by Jennifer Bricker and Devon Lovell, Family Matters
It seems that no matter the person, no matter the age, study skills remain the single largest challenge amongst our students.  Come participate in a hands-on session that addresses this issue.  We'll discuss both metacognition (learning about learning) as well as specific techniques to teach your students regarding organization, studying, and homework completion.

Understanding the Networks of Tutor/Mentor Programs and how the Conference Enhances Collaboration and Idea Sharing, presented by Katelin Anderson, Graduate Student, Dominican University and Daniel Bassill, President, Tutor/Mentor Connection

During the November 2009 Conference, Valdis Krebs and Jean Russell presented a discussion about Thrivable Networks. This blog article illustrates the concept of social network analysis.  This article illustrates the potential.  During this presentation Interns working with the T/MC will present work done since Nov. 09 to map the network of people connected through the conferences and the Tutor/Mentor Connection, to each other.   

View Handout from this session (pdf)

Follow this project on the T/MC Ning site

Designing Successful After School Programs, Presented by Dr. Marlene Allen, Project HOPE, Inc.
Would you like to design an after-school program that will be the talk of the school? Would you like to have students "waitlisted" to attend your program?  Would you like to engage students in activities and lessons that have them begging for more?  Would like to design a program that fills the gaps in services so many of our youth need? Find out how to plan exciting afterschool programs for your student

This workshop is for program managers, educators, support staff, youth workers and all other individuals interested in the academic, social and emotional development of young people.  You will learn strategies to connect after-school program goals to those of your school, district, community and/or organization.  We will also discuss ideas and strategies to increase parental involvement.
 

Second workshops: 11:00 am to 12:15 pm 

 

Mentoring Program Strategies - Issues and Best Practices. Panel Discussion  
Mentoring programs have their own special needs and issues that differ greatly from tutoring program. Talk to a panel of mentoring program leaders on ways to make your mentoring program a success!

Panel includes Joel Newman, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, Christy Beigh-Byrne, Director of Mentor and Volunteer Services, Chicago Youth Centers, Elliott Donnelly Youth Center,

Collaborative Mentoring, Presented by Audrey Walker, AR Walker Consulting
This workshop should provide a guide for understanding what collaborative mentoring means, the purpose, and how one goes about establishing a mentoring program, setting guidelines, standards, outcomes and accountabilities and the importance of networking between mentoring groups.

Capacity Building resources available to non profits in Chicago, presented by Andrea Durbin and Tasha Robinson, Coordinator, Capacity Enhancement Program, Youth Network Council

This workshop is being offered to provide participants with information about the Youth Services Capacity Enhancement Program (YSCEP) developed by Youth Network Council. Participants will learn how a focus on capacity-building can help propel their organization to new levels of effectiveness and maximize their social impact.

View PDF of this presentation

Discussion of Findings from Tutor/Mentor Connection  Survey: What are the issues most important to you?
Panel Discussion led by Nicole White, Tutor/Mentor Connection Research and Networking Coordinator and Mike Trakan, GIS/Mapping Coordinator - Tutor/Mentor Connection, www.tutormentorconnection.org

Read survey comments and add your own ideas.

Lunch & Networking - 12: 15 pm - 1:30 pm

12:50pm to 1:15 pm - Keynote Speaker - What mentors need to know about the life experience of youth impacted by urban youth violence: A framework for breaking down the barriers to connecting - Professor Deanna Wilkinson, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science, Ohio State University

View PDF of this presentation.

Friday afternoon workshops:  1:45 to 3:30pm - 

Serve Illinois - Building Partnerships, presented by Scott McFarland, Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteering and Service
The Serve Illinois Commission would like to introduce you to what we can do to improve Illinois through volunteerism and community service.  The presentation and discussion will include information on the Volunteer Management Network, Volunteerism Conferences, AmeriCorps and other National Service programs, and volunteer recognition.

View PDF of this presentation

Achieving Goals through Online Fundraising, presented by LaShon Anthony, Visuals4U
This workshop will cover strategies to increase fundraising revenue by utilizing online tools and websites specifically designed to assist charities. The presenter, La'Shon Anthony of visuals4u, will cover shopping sites, fundraising pages for outdoor events, widgets, online payments and more.

Trends in Tutoring and Mentoring, presented by Rose Mabwa, Mercy Housing
Explores complexities of change, both globally and locally while proving insights to successful engaging efforts that will propel mentees into the future.

Implementing Strategy - Measure your Success! presented by Debra Natenshon, CEO, The Center for What Works

Participants will gain actionable ideas on how to implement their strategy as well as key indicators to quantify success and learn from what does not work in tutoring and mentoring programs.

View PDF of this presentation
Youth Mentoring - Outcome Indicators Map pdf
Youth Tutoring - Outcome Indicators Map pdf
 

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 are interested in creating more tutor/mentor programs in a specific area, 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'd like to organize a single workshop, or a conference within the conference, please contact us online or call 312-492-9614