Blackburn mentoring is available in Charlottesville and Albemarle County by video. A student, young adult or professional is matched with one dedicated mentor, meets weekly or more often on an Eastern time schedule, and has text and phone contact between sessions. Our team works from Los Angeles, so all Charlottesville sessions are online.
A small city below the Blue Ridge
Charlottesville sits in the Piedmont at the foot of the Blue Ridge, with Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive close enough for a day trip. Health care, research and tourism are major employers, and the Downtown Mall, the vineyards of Albemarle County and historic sites like Monticello draw a steady flow of visitors. Crozet, Earlysville and the rural hills around town give the area a mix of small city and countryside.
Growing up around high expectations
Academic expectations can run high, sometimes higher than a teenager is ready for. Some students thrive on that. Others feel judged by every grade, or quietly disengage. Early signs a student might benefit from an outside mentor:
- They have stopped sharing anything about school at home.
- Their effort has dropped, but they cannot or will not explain why.
- Every evening ends with a battle over homework.
- They are capable of the work but have never had to plan a week on their own.
A mentor is someone outside the family whose only stake is the student’s own goals, which often makes the same advice easier to hear. See homework battles with a teen and talking to a teen who will not talk.
College students, here and away
Charlottesville families may have a student enrolled locally or far from home, and students from elsewhere arrive here every fall. In both cases, a mentor works by video with the student wherever they live, helps them build routines and study plans, and, with permission, keeps parents informed. Mentors do not replace a campus’s advising or counseling services; they help students use them. See mentoring for college students.
A good place for a gap year
Some students finish high school unsure they are ready for college. A planned gap year, with a job, volunteering, travel or a skill to build, can be a strong choice when it has structure. A mentor helps design that year and keep it on track week by week. Our page on gap year mentoring explains how that works, and gap year ideas has options to consider.
Session times
Charlottesville is three hours ahead of Los Angeles, so a 4 pm session after school is 1 pm for the mentor and evening sessions are easy to arrange. Sessions run 30 or 60 minutes, weekly or several times a week, on a weekly or monthly plan.
Where a mentor helps
A mentor gives practical, steady guidance and accountability. Mentors are not tutors, therapists or admissions counselors, and they can coordinate with any of those people already involved. Families with teens usually start with mentoring for high school students. Read how video sessions work on our online mentoring page, or see mentoring in Virginia.
Related
- Online mentoring in Richmond
- Online mentoring in Northern Virginia
- Online mentoring in Washington, DC
- Mentoring for families
Common questions
Does Blackburn work with any particular school in Charlottesville?
No. We are independent and do not work for or with any school. Any student or family can work with a mentor by video.
Can a mentor help plan a gap year?
Yes. A mentor helps set goals for the year, break them into weekly steps and keep the year from drifting, with regular check-ins.
Do you meet in person in Charlottesville?
No. Our team is in Los Angeles, and Charlottesville clients work with their mentor online, with text and phone contact between sessions.
Get started
Want to talk about a student or young adult in Charlottesville? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.