This January, as MENTOR spotlights what it means to be a mentor In Real Life for the third year in a row, we wanted to bring you stories that challenge some of the myths of mentoring (that you have to bear the official title of “mentor” to make a difference), demonstrate the impact of being a caring adult, and help dispel some of your confusions or concerns.

Mindy Sturm serves as the director of the Mayor’s Office for Children, Youth, and Families (MOCYF) in Charleston, South Carolina. MOCYF focuses on improving the conditions for children, mobilizing resources in the community to work on their behalf, and developing strategies to support children, youth and families.

From an online community dedicated to supporting foster youth to an organization focused on ending bullying, five new organizations have joined America’s Promise Alliance as partners this month. Find more information on their goals, missions, and efforts below.

“It might be no surprise that students experiencing homelessness are more at risk of dropping out than others—as this young person illustrates—but new research shows that the inverse is also true: When it comes to youth homelessness, not having a high school diploma is the biggest risk factor of all.”

By now, you’ve probably heard that the Department of Education published the latest numbers on grad rates earlier this week, revealing that the on-time high school graduation rate has risen to a high of 84.1 percent. Leaders of the GradNation campaign quickly published a statement both celebrating the progress and urging the education community to double-down on accountability.

When it comes to graduation rates, Indiana has some serious bragging rights. Not only did it have one of the highest high school graduation rates of any state in the country in 2015, it also reported the smallest graduation gap between low-income and non-low-income students—no easy feat, considering more than one-third of Indiana students come from low-income families. So how did they do it?

The following grants and funding opportunities are currently accepting applicants. These grants are not offered through America's Promise Alliance, but they each relate to our Five Promises.

Molly Shaw serves as executive director of Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, an affiliate of the national Communities In Schools (CIS) network, an organization dedicated to keeping kids

Experts now know more than ever about what causes young people to fall behind and what can keep them on track. In the report Our Work, America’s Promise analyzed what exactly the field of child and youth development has learned over the past two decades and compiled a list of must-reads for anyone interested in supporting positive outcomes for youth. Here are five to start.

The majority of principals express a strong desire to implement SEL into their curriculum, according to a recent national survey of nearly 900 principals of elementary, middle, and high schools, but most feel like they don’t have the necessary guidance, training, and support to teach these skills effectively. They want more training for teachers and greater access to research-based strategies.

Of all the recommendations to accelerate progress for young people in Our Work—including building relationships and creating more pathways—the third and final may seem like the most esoteric of all: engaging the community and renewing our collective civic spirit.

Two studies have been circulating the news lately that, at first glance, seem to directly contradict each other. One touts low high school dropout rates and higher college enrollment rates for Hispanic/Latino students, while another explores a more troubling fact: they may be enrolling in college, but they’re having a hard time finishing. Here’s why.

“My advice for adults would be to foster healthy, supportive, and trustworthy relationships with young people from the beginning. Once the trust is there, adults can mentor young people in finding their passion and guide them through the process of developing into successful young adults.”

If you had a million dollars, how would you use it to help young people find jobs? If you could change or create one policy to support youth employment, what would it be? Youth development experts tackled these questions at the 11th Annual JAG National Thought Leader Event on Oct. 11.

Research shows that programs make more progress when they involve parents or caregivers. Yet not every organization that wants to impact kids works with and for parents. Why not? Here’s a look at some of the challenges—and a few solutions.

For the last five years, American Graduate Day has emphasized the importance of high school graduation through telling stories, creating resources, and building community connections.