level-up

School-Based Group Mentoring Program

Level Up is a school-based group mentoring program that connects students (Littles) with trained, paid mentors during the school day. Currently offered at Whittier Elementary School and Jack L. Kuban Elementary School, Level Up combines group mentoring activities with one-to-one connection, giving students consistent access to trusted adults who are focused on their growth and success.

Level Up sessions are incorporated into the school schedule, creating a structured and supportive environment where students can build relationships, participate in guided conversations and activities, and strengthen skills they can use in school, at home, and in their communities.

Programming focuses on four key areas of youth development:

Vision for the Future

Helping students identify goals, explore future opportunities, and strengthen their educational expectations.

Social-Emotional Learning

Building skills such as emotional regulation, communication, confidence, problem-solving, and healthy decision-making.

Sense of Belonging

Strengthening students’ connections to trusted adults, peers, their school, and their community.

Avoidance of Risky Behaviors

Supporting positive choices and helping students develop the skills and relationships that contribute to long-term success.

THE IMPACT OF
LEVEL UP

Level Up is designed to produce meaningful outcomes beyond the time students spend in mentoring sessions. Through consistent relationships with paid mentors and intentional skill-building activities, students have demonstrated growth across the program’s key outcome areas, including social-emotional skills, sense of belonging, vision for their future, and their ability to make positive choices and avoid risky behaviors.

These outcomes reinforce the value of providing students with consistent access to caring adults who can encourage them, help them navigate challenges, and create opportunities to think about who they are and who they want to become.

By combining the relationship-centered approach of Big Brothers Big Sisters with a consistent, school-based group mentoring experience, Level Up brings mentoring directly to students where they are and gives them regular opportunities to feel supported, build confidence and skills, strengthen their connection to school, and envision what is possible for their future.