The School District of Philadelphia is expanding the Leaders Encouraging Achievement and Development (LEAD) Program, an effort designed to help support the needs of young Black male students through positive engagement with Black adult males. 

The initiative was launched in spring 2020 as a pilot program at E. Washington Rhodes Middle School and Hamilton Disston Elementary School, pairing district school safety officers with students. The mentors conduct hour-long sessions each week with a small group of students and engage them on a variety of topics using nationally recognized best practice standards based on research, experience, and evidence of positive outcomes. 

The district recently announced an expansion of the program, adding nine volunteer mentors to serve students at Benjamin B. Comegys and Rudolph Blankenburg elementary schools. The L.E.A.D. program will also include its first pilot with female students, providing a mentoring opportunity for female officers to work with students. 

“We are excited about the work that has already been done and look forward to great things that lie ahead for students who are participating in the LEAD program,” said Philadelphia Schools Superintendent William Hite at a press conference announcing the expansion of the program.

The L.E.A.D. program was developed by the district’s Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP) as a way to meet the need for mentoring in schools, which was identified in the school district’s 2018-2019 School Supports Census. The district’s census found that 62 schools expressed a critical need for mentoring with many specifically requesting mentors for their Black students.  

The L.E.A.D. mentors are recruited by the district’s Office of School Safety (OSS), which will be moving the initiative forward with the support of OSP.

As of this year, all of the school system’s 325 school safety officers received mandatory mentor training as part of the OSS’s work to re-envision its role. 

The program plans to continue developing formal mentoring partnerships at additional schools.  

“You can never go wrong with having an adult mentor in a space with young men. There’s more than enough evidence to show that having a positive adult influence in the lives of our youth can have a critical impact,” said Philadelphia Schools Chief of School Safety Kevin Bethel. “Many of our officers were already doing this in some capacity, but now it’s part of a formalized program that can reach more students. Our officers who are engaged now are really enjoying it and truly believe in the work that they are doing.”