National Mentoring Month January 2026

We are celebrating January’s National Mentoring Month, with a new Spark grant to Mentoring for Success (MFS), serving ~500 SFUSD students. Operating in 40 of SFUSD’s most under-resourced schools, MFS is a school-based mentoring model that pairs students with caring adults while cultivating a collaborative school culture building belonging and resilience for all students. 

Just last night, District Coordinator Laurie Vargas-Zeuschner gathered Mentors and Americorps volunteer mentors-in-training to honor their commitment to student success and community. She honored veteran mentors and celebrated the commitment and impact of the new mentors-in-training on their school communities.

MFS provides students facing significant barriers to success with consistent, caring mentors who nurture both academic and social-emotional growth.  Its unique school-based model supports school communities with the essential evidence-based ingredients for success.

Mentors focus on building relationships to establish: Mutual trust, Respect and Friendship. Once the foundation is in place, mentors can begin addressing more specific personal and academic goals.  

“64% of students involved in Mentoring for Success improved their attendance from the 2021-2022 school year to 2022-2023. This is a cumulative 5396 MORE days of attendance!”

David Payne, SFUSD Assistant Superintendent of the Student and Family Services Division, speaks to mentors