Empowering Resilience: The MTC & Alta Vista High School Partnership

For nearly 30 years, Mentor Tutor Connection (MTC) has been a constant, supportive presence for students navigating the most challenging paths to graduation. Today, we are deepening that commitment through a new, specialized program at Alta Vista High School, serving students who need community just as much as the classroom.

Group Mentoring Program Mission

Alta Vista serves approximately 80 students in grades 10–12 who have faced adversity, housing instability, or traditional school settings that simply didn’t fit. We provide these resilient young people with the tools to not only stay in school but to thrive emotionally and personally.

Our Holistic Approach

In collaboration with a licensed social worker at the school plus MTC staff, we’ve developed a program that blends practical life skills with emotional wellness:

• Practical knowledge: interactive workshops that build real-world independence on topics like financial literacy and building connections with others.
• Promoting self-care, such as encouraging participation in The Serenity Garden (a hands-on campus gardening project promoting mindfulness) and spending time with visiting therapy dogs.
• Local enrichment activities, including field trips to local businesses and cultural centers to expand horizons, including visits to Filoli Gardens and Movement Climbing Gym.

Bi-weekly lunch sessions with MTC managers and adult mentors are held to bridge the gap between students and other supportive role models. Students interested in pursuing one-to-one mentoring outside of the school setting will then be matched with mentors to provide another caring adult presence and non-judgmental sounding board as they explore shared interests and make new discoveries. 

The Impact of Your Support

Your investment helps us scale this model to serve 15 students in our inaugural year, providing the oversight and resources necessary to ensure students’ connection with a supportive community, as well as:

• Social and emotional growth: building the resilience needed to face life’s hurdles.
• Increased confidence, driving school engagement and high school completion.
• Greater connections with adults: building ongoing relationships with group mentors and potentially transitioning students into one-to-one mentoring relationships that last well beyond graduation.