Recruiting and Retaining Students in Family and Consumer Sciences Education: El Puente Para El Futuro (The Bridge to the Future) Mentoring Project

El Puente Para El Futuro (The Bridge to the Future) mentoring project was undertaken to meet the need for family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers. The centerpiece of the project was one‐on‐one mentoring relationships between family and consumer sciences education (FCSE) mentor students from New Mexico State University and mentee students from the Education Program at Dona Ana Branch Community College. During fall 2003, the researchers developed curricula, recruitment materials, and assessment instruments. Seven mentor‐mentee pairs completed the project during spring 2004. The researchers planned monthly structured events, and each mentor‐mentee pair arranged for unstructured events. Valid and reliable cognitive and affective assessments were administered to participants at the beginning and end of the project. Mentees had significant increases in both cognitive and affective mean scores regarding teaching FCS. This mentoring model is recommended to FCSE educators and others working in recruitment settings.