Have you been following He is Me Institute? Then you know I AM KING (IAK) is our signature after school program, unique to He is Me.

For 24 weeks throughout the school year, IAK mentees meet once weekly with their mentor to discover and practice the five competencies of social-emotional learning through the lens of Black male identity. The boys also improve their literacy skills through weekly reflective writing exercises. 

Mentors are Black college men exploring a teaching career. Through IAK, they get their first authentic teaching experience as they work through the IAK curriculum with their mentees. Mentors also have opportunities during the school year to create their own lesson plans – a very authentic part of the teaching experience.

In addition to the mentoring sessions, mentors meet monthly as a group with their Site Coordinator, a local educator with trained by He is Me to facilitate mentor discussions and guides them to reflect individually and as a group on their IAK experience.

IAK mentees are boys of color, typically middle schoolers, who get what is likely to be their first experience with a Black man as their teacher. IAK is free to families, and mentors receive a stipend.

Based on feedback we are receiving from IAK participating schools, mentors, boys, and families, we can confidently say that IAK is win-win-win-win for all of them.

Pictured here is mentor JeTaury D. (left), a student at Northeastern University, and He is Me’s Program Director Josh Salter, (standing, center)  and the “kings” of Thomas J. Kenny Elementary School in Dorchester, MA. 

For more about I AM KING, click here.