The program promotes an atmosphere of “family” and the students form a deep bond while they are having fun together. From initiating special activities for birthdays and holidays, getting together as a group to go trick-or treating on Halloween or having a paper snowball fight in the gym, or one on one tutoring, the mentors go out of their way to make the student feel like they have someone there for them. Other activities include a spring scavenger hunt, spring plantings, group breakfasts and field trips.

The results of this program are quite positive. Observers have seen children who engaged in the program become happier, look forward to coming to school, improve their grades and socialization with their peers and self-esteem, while seeing a decline in behavior issues.

Project S.T.E.A.M.
(Students and Teachers Encouraging Achievement Through Mentoring) was started more than six years ago by a group of educators in the Ernest J. Finizio Aldene School in Roselle Park, NJ. Their intent was to create a mentorship program for students who were not reaching their potential, because of social, emotional or motivational difficulties

Through this program, a student is identified by a teacher, who receives parental consent for the student's participation in the program. The teacher then matches the student with a mentoring teacher who volunteers his/her time to meet with the student whenever the need occurs whether before school, during break, lunchtime or after school.