Improving Reading and Technology Skills in At-Risk Teens Through Librarian-Led Mentoring Activities: An Action Research Study

At-risk students have a complicated scenario of needs that arise from multiproblem situations and self-destructive behaviors. In schools, literacy is one basic need. Socially and economically disadvantaged students often read below grade level early in their school careers and are moved forward regardless of literacy competency. The No Child Left Behind Act's requirement to demonstrate adequate yearly progress has made it more difficult for schools to justify this behavior; however, teaching literacy skills to disaffected youth has become highly problematic because teachers are attempting to manage behaviors while teaching their students. Librarians are highly skilled in literacy and technology, but, ironically, they are isolated from the daily academics of the school and have a reputation as staff who just "find books" for children and conduct literature searches.;In an inner-city middle school in North Carolina, various programs were initiated to attempt to address academic problems and increase adequate yearly progress. The author of this study, a librarian, developed a program for this school that was designed to enhance the literacy and technological skills of several students who were identified as most "at risk." Concentrating on one-to-one mentoring with school and public librarians, the author developed a 5-month program called the Weekly Readers Program, which involved specific weekly curricula, goals, and assignments oriented toward developing students' literacy and technological skills. Using one-on-one mentoring and focusing on students' self-reflections, the program demonstrated significant successes in many areas, including a drop in antisocial behavior and an increase in self-esteem.;The focus of this study was to determine the effects of a librarian-student mentoring program on the academic, behavioral, absenteeism, and self-esteem outcomes of at-risk students in an urban North Carolina middle school. The author utilized a social-action research method and continued to gather data and to modify the program through short feedback loops from student feedback and personal observations. The sample consisted of 10 at-risk, urban middle school students; additionally, 10 librarians served as the mentor population. Qualitative data from this study showed significant improvement in participants' attitudes toward school and their ability to comprehend information in all forms during and after mentoring. Significant outcomes surfaced for participants' disciplinary referrals, which decreased for all participants by the end of the mentoring experience. An improvement in student self-efficacy was also noted in a presurvey-postsurvey evaluation model. These improvements suggest that the mentoring effects of a caring professional librarian can have far-reaching results in an at-risk student's life.