Baltimore City Schools outlines districtwide mentoring push, cites pilots and federal work‑study as scaling pathway

Dr. Sofia Rudacille Holmes, lead of Mentoring and Adult Relationships (MAR) for Baltimore City Public Schools, told the board Jan. 22 the district is expanding student mentoring to improve students’ “wholeness” composite score and four‑year graduation rates.

MAR’s work, Holmes said, is aligned with the district’s secondary success priorities and the school system’s blueprint; the team uses two vetted models — a student mentoring program and school‑based mentoring — and provides consultancy to schools that request support. “Every student deserves a mentor,” Holmes said when she opened the presentation.

Holmes described a MAR staffing structure built to scale: a manager and three regional specialists, planned site‑based coordinators, and support roles for impact evaluation, communications and recruitment. She said last year 40 schools budgeted for mentoring; MAR “served 981 students with 985 mentors across 14 schools” (12 high schools and 2 middle schools), and expanded participating programs from two to…