Early Intervention Mentoring Program
Pilot Project

The Early Intervention Mentoring Program is a school-based initiative that matches early childhood/elementary education majors with identified at-risk first grade students at Title 1 schools. Through this 3-year pilot project we will develop a literacy program for the first grade to incorporate an early intervention component of our current mentoring program initiative. This school-year pilot project will engage first grade students at one Horry County school in a control group where the identified first grade students will receive one-on-one mentoring and classroom and teacher enrichment materials, resources and professional development.

A comparison group of first grade students at that same school who are receiving school supported remediation services will not receive the one-on-one mentoring but will be enriched by the additional materials, resources and the professional development of their classroom teacher. There will also be two external comparison groups at two additional Horry County comparative schools where students will not receive one-on-one mentoring service but the first grade classrooms will receive identical additional materials, resources and professional development opportunities.

It is expected that through this project, at-risk first grade students who are receiving the one-on-one mentoring services will progress academically in the area of literacy at the same rate or better then first grade students in the comparison groups. It is expected that with the success of this pilot project and development of the Early Intervention Mentoring Program, one-on-one mentoring services will also be offered to the two comparison schools at a later date.