Research has shown mentoring to be a powerful alternative education and dropout prevention strategy for students at risk. This book is designed to help teachers, school administrators, case managers in the juvenile justice system, and others who work with at-risk students develop mentoring programs. Chapter 1, "Teachers Can Restructure Education for Students at Risk," discusses the need to restructure classrooms, programs, and the need for schools to serve students better. Chapter 2 introduces two funded alternative education programs, the Truancy Court Conference Program and the Mentoring and Tutoring Help (MATH) Program. The MATH program provides positive role models from the community for Truancy Court Conference Program students and involves these students in personal relationships with mentors. Chapter 3 discusses some of the important components of the MATH program that can help teachers design, operate, and evaluate their own mentoring programs. Models to design recruiting flyers, mentor applications, and interest inventories are included. Activities, which include community service projects, are outlined for mentors and students. A model that summarizes the important features of MATH applicable to school situations is presented. Chapter 4 deals with what teachers can emphasize to mentors. The need for teachers to facilitate the efforts of mentors to gain knowledge and training in specific areas, such as mentoring techniques and setting goals and objectives, is discussed. Chapter 5 deals with tips for teachers to build a mentoring program. These tips are organized into: (1) familiarity with effective mentoring programs; (2) identifying proteges and school liaison persons; (3) writing mission statements, goals, and objectives; and (4) being aware of family structure and promoting of family involvement. An appendix contains some sample forms for mentoring programs. (Contains 2 figures and 58 references.) (SLD)