Bryan Hatcher: Evaluating Mentoring Relationships
Bryan Hatcher
Class 3, Create
What is your Vision for Impact statement?
To ensure Black & African American Boys experience self-determination immediately, then perpetually, through healthy relationships, emotional intelligence, and building solutions for their perceived community using their perceived skill sets.
You are building something new - tell us about it!
I’m building a universal relationship reflection evaluation tool that measures the relationship effectiveness/ impact from the youth’s perspective. This simple evaluation combines Knapp’s relationship development model with MENTOR’s Standards of Effective Practices in order to gauge the stage of a relationship, the effectiveness, and raw data on ways to develop the relationship.
The goal is that all mentorship relationships can use this tool to maintain a steady positive development; programs can measure ways to develop their program to manage effective mentorships relationships; and funders can easily determine effective mentorship programs to support equitable fund allocation.
How did your involvement with School Board School impact your decision to start this work?
School Board School showed me I belong to a great network that truly wants to impact teens and youth across the nation.
Through School Board School, my perspective around who I identified as a leader has been transformed. I now understand that leaders are the peers and friends in this network (and beyond) who, when working together, are able to make substantial change.
School Board School also demystified the complexity of the education system. It brought clarity by identifying the actual components, the functions, and the potential impact of the system.
School Board School showed me that students can actually do better, and there is existing staff to better mentor those students- I just need to help create the tool that drives better mentoring outcomes to ensure that students are supported and engaged through healthy relationships.
How have you used your School Board School training/ learnings in the development of this program?
I used School Board School first by staying in contact with the network. The members of my home team are truly some of my closest friends and I am grateful for our monthly meet-ups.
I use the activity from our District Finances session on building a school budget to better empathize with my building principal/ administration, while also holding them accountable for what’s possible for the young people.
I use my new understanding of the board committee meetings as a tool to educate myself on the details of the district. This helps me understand what’s happening in those committees beyond the 5-minute presentations of minutes at the board meetings.
I also use the knowledge gained from the session on how policy is made to understand how governance is managed at the school and district levels. This has helped me navigate conversations with administration and my peers around where to place resources, and where my work supporting students is needed.
What impact are you (and/or your team) making in your new program?
The impact I am trying to make at this moment is guiding any student back to their perceived skills and interests, leading to a stronger and more positive outlook on life. I’ve successfully mentored four former students from a place where they were struggling, to them returning to college. We did this through steady progress while advancing their personal skills. I’ve also launched a program where twenty-five 10th-12th grade students, within 60 days, will experience their own personal interests in order to help them better decide their next steps after graduation. All of these programs are hybrid models, so they can happen virtually between a mentor, mentee, and/or educator. I will be presenting my relationship evaluation tool and program at the Carolina Mentor Summit this November.
What do you love about your new program?
I love that I get to work with my former students. I’m glad that it shows that any two people can connect or even find a reconnection through mentorship; there are no barriers beyond having a caring relationship with another person. I love how these programs and tools actually put the students in the partner seat; it literally falls apart in real-time when I try and insert myself as an authority. It slows me down and makes me intentional about my decisions with them, and any other individual I encounter. This just further proves all teachers, parents, or any caring person can follow this program/model to support youth to meet their personal goals.
I also love that it helps students see that there may be additional mental barriers that are real and can be addressed. A success in their skill set directly correlates to the possibility of success in their inner-personal development. It’s a bit tougher, but they have made strides in believing in themselves more.
How can the School Board School community support you in this work?
I’d ask that members try these models at home- try them with their peers, friends, coworkers and build up the courage to try it with young people they encounter or want to encounter. Ultimately begin trying to build mentorship relationships.
School Board School can also help with “success in leadership” development. The best way I can explain it is, I am nervous around the question: “What if this goes really well?” as I’m not sure I know the next steps to advance and protect these ideas. I need to prepare myself and plan to balance the mission of the work with the idea of running a business. All support and ideas are welcome.
Do you have advice for other School Board School members as they look to start a new program or initiative?
Set/schedule monthly meetings with three types of relationships:
SELF, for development of the idea (naturally);
HOME TEAM, (shared values) for emotional support, release, and life experiences to step outside of SELF every now and then;
MENTOR, for an intentional and constructive critique of the idea.
This schedule is important as they all keep you motivated mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The idea is already started as soon as you think about it. The work is usually about continuing to develop/ build your idea over time. Those relationships maintain a cadence of development, rest, and growth. They also create healthy expectations, safety, and balance, as each relationship will offer a different perspective and area of support.
Is there anything else you want to highlight?
School Board School Class 3 is the best class (lol), and I hope we all understand that we are all unique individuals and bring a specific skill, mindset, or perspective to this work. That Executive Director needs the teacher with direct experience, who needs the networker/ socialite who knows community boards and partners, who needs the scholars who are currently experiencing the system. Each level needs the other to validate, challenge, and support their brilliant ideas.
School Board School has been the one place I have seen this synergy happen, so shoutout to all the classes and this amazing network.
Lastly, our young people are just younger versions of all our skill sets and personalities, so empowering them just as School Board School did for us is imperative. They are no different from all of us, and I hope we find a way to support their brilliance, and remind them that they are part of this community and that they are part of the overall impact we are trying to make.