Mentoring & Tutoring Vol. 15, No. 1, February 2007, pp. 5–23 ISSN 1361-1267 (print)/ISSN 1469-9745 (online)/07/010005–19 © 2007 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/13611260601037348 A model for teacher mentoring of poor and minority children: a case study of an urban Israeli school mentoring program Aram Ayalon* Central Connecticut State University, USA Taylor and Francis Ltd CMET_A_203640.sgm 10.1080/13611260601037348 Mentoring & Tutoring 1361-1267 (print)/1469-9745 (online) Original Article 2007 Taylor & Francis 15 1 000000February 2007 AramAyalon ayalona@ccsu.edu The purpose of this article is fourfold. First, it identifies a growing international interest on the part of educators and school officials in finding effective ways to mentor especially poor and minority students toward academic success. Second, it reviews the literature on mentoring as it pertains to this population. Third, it details a case study of an urban Israeli school-mentoring program through which teachers mentor students as a part and parcel part of their classroom responsibilities. Interviews with teachers and school guidance staff describe an innovative and supportive system of mentorship of poor children from North African and Middle Eastern backgrounds in an urban, combined middle/high school. Fourth, it highlights and discusses the changes that schools that are interested in establishing an effective teacher-based mentorship program for poor and minority children must garner. This article explores, through a case study methodology, the conditions that support effective mentorship of poor and minority students in secondary schools. Mentoring poor and minority students has recently become a widespread focus in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, and Sweden, among other countries (Miller, 2002; Colley, 2003). With the recent increased worldwide emphasis on creating learner-centered schools in urban and poor areas through effective mentoring virtually around the world, there is a concomitant need to develop an environment where teachers successfully nurture at-risk students. Much of the literature on mentoring focuses on teachers as mentors of other teach- ers, students mentored by outside volunteers, and students mentored in the a co- curricular environment. Few studies actually ‘describe the process of teaching itself * Teacher Education, School of Education and Professional Studies, Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley St, New Britain, CT 06050, USA. Email: ayalona@ccsu.edu