Mentor Handbook- Chapter Four
Working With Schools

Schools - Learning More About the Organization

After some years of working with schools we have discovered a few important similarities and differences between mentoring in a school setting and mentoring in a nonprofit. Like nonprofits, schools have tight budgets and diffuse technical responsibilities, and they are focused on the service they provide, not on technological prowess.

But schools have organizational structures very different from nonprofits. Schools are more bureaucratic; your contact is usually not the principal, but a teacher or lab manager. You may need to dig a bit more in your initial phone contact to find out who else is involved in the project.

Another important factor with schools is that you may be working with, or around, students. This usually invokes special policies on behavior, security, health, confidentiality, and so on. There are probably concerns about student use of computers and online access. Find out if your work will be affected by these policies.

Just as for any mentoring assignment, CompuMentor will have spoken with the school's representative to get a picture of their situation and to develop the initial Action Plan. The next step is for you to call the school's contact person to get a more specific idea of what they want.

As a school mentor you should try to find opportunities to 'train the trainers' whenever possible. Keep a sharp eye out for a teacher or even a student who wants to know how to do what you are doing (unless it involves network security or confidentiality). We have found that teachers are often assigned computer jobs that they are untrained for, and will welcome the chance to learn more about the technology.

Get the lay of the land.

Call your school contact person, introduce yourself and begin a discussion of the project. This sounds easy enough, but we have found that school contacts may not be technical people, and so may be a little fuzzy about exactly what is to be done and the best way to accomplish it. That's often a key reason they need you. Moreover, contacts who are teachers may be unreachable by phone for hours at a time. When you do reach the contact person, discuss an agenda for your first meeting. For example:

Get established onsite.

Now that you're in school, are you a teacher?

While schools may have substantial computer equipment, they rarely provide much technology training. It may sound strange, but it's a situation we find is very common. So if you're interested, a teaching role is quite probably the most valuable service you can provide. For example, if your support involves routine maintenance, gather a group of interested people, put one at the computer, and ask one to take notes; then step them through the procedure to optimize a disk, or clean up files and folders or whatever. But the most important thing to remember when teaching is: Take your time! Speak clearly, go through the steps slowly, and use the simplest language you can - let them suggest technical terms for things - they'll love you for it.

Now that you're an established expert

The project is going well and you've been to the school now several times. Lots of people may want your phone number. Our suggestion is to be very careful about giving it. If you have the time and inclination to answer tech questions at work or at home, give your number to one or two people and set some terms - when to call and when not to. Ask everyone else to channel their questions through those individuals. This technique might also help when someone is bending your ear and you need to get out of there!

People may well ask you questions about educational software, or perhaps your opinion on one technology versus another for the school setting. We know that most mentors don't have this specialized expertise in depth. What you can do is simply clarify your own experience and the particular technical areas that you are working with. There are many fine resources on educational technology, best found through professional contacts, libraries, conferences, and so on. If it truly interests you, you might offer to help with some research, such as finding good curriculum material on the Internet.

Necessary purchases

Schools have budget machinery. This means that even when they have money to spend, there might be a three month delay in getting a request approved. There are, however, some buzzwords that might help you get money to buy items more promptly. You might ask if the school has an OPEN P.O. arrangement - an account at a store where designated people can get what they need and just sign the tab. They may also have a PETTY CASH fund - a few dollars available for such contingencies. You get the money, buy what you need, and bring back the receipt for the bookkeeper. Find out who authorizes these small purchases, and ask this person about correct procedures.

Communication and the Social Side

If several mentors are working on a project, it's best to select a point-person for the school contact. Too many voices tend to confuse things. A shared view of whatÕs being done or what's needed can help things go much more smoothly.

As always, we urge that you briefly document your work and leave the information with someone, so that when you leave it's possible for others to follow up if necessary. This is important for every project big or small - from setting up a network to recommending a virus-checking procedure.

Be very conservative when working on hardware or software. Be sure to make backups before modifying systems. If your work will take down the system or otherwise interrupt business as usual, get permission from a person you're sure has the authority to grant it.

On your initial visit to the school site, dress "for business". Lots of computer professionals are used to dressing more casually, and you may prefer that style, but schools tend to be more formal. You'll soon see what is appropriate for this school.

If there is a single key to mentoring in schools, it may be the often considerable social interaction (sometimes a stretch for us tech types). Successful school mentors develop some particular skills to deal with this, perhaps best described as "bedside manner". It's good to know how to calm people who are anxious around computers. Let them write down what you say, as though you're dictating some sort of technical scripture. Speak slowly and avoid technical jargon where possible. Teach them how to fix things themselves so they won't keep coming to you for the same problem. Demonstrate preventive maintenance, such as how to shut down properly, or to use disk utilities. Exude confidence that anything that can be broken, can be fixed...well almost anything!

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