© Clinton County News

In Thursday, July 2, 2009 issue

The Mission Statement for the Clinton County mentoring program reads as follows: “The Clinton County Mentoring Program seeks to encourage at-risk students to succeed academically and to promote a positive attitude toward school.

The program seeks to build self-esteem, acquire academic success and to expand their career aspirations by interacting with adult volunteers from the community who serve as mentors. These mentors serve as a “safety net” for at-risk youth who are often alienated from others and lack adequate support networks from family to encourage high academic and career aspirations.”

The aforementioned “mission” is working for over 50 local students and in the past, since the mentoring program began four years ago, hundreds of at-risk youth have been helped by being paired with caring, older adults who volunteer a little of their time to help a child succeed, not only in the school setting, but a life setting itself.

The mentoring program will begin its fifth year with the start of the 2009-2010 school term, according to Kathy Conner, who has helped coordinate the program at Clinton County Middle School since the program began.

Now, not only do CCMS students benefit from having adults work with them, but the program was expanded last year to Albany Elementary School, where Chris Marcum coordinates the program.

The highly successful mentoring process began with a three-year grant and after that expired, the program was picked up with grant funds from the Safe Schools/Healthy Kids initiative and expanded to the lower grades, where the students can continue on with their mentors into the higher grade level.

The program was designed as an “in-school” tutoring program and according to Conner, is only one of a handful of programs that directly assist at-risk students inside a school setting.

Since the program is now available at AES, mentors who partner with a student can continue on with the same student, even to CCMS.

To be a mentor, all it takes is a little time once per week, either an hour or half-hour once per day, at whatever time the adult can be available to work with the student. They interact by with activities that may range from reading, to just talking and both Conner and Marcum noted that one of the more popular periods for both mentors and the child alike is during lunch hours when they can eat together.

“Sometimes, a lunch hour may be more convenient for mentors who work and take that time to be with the student,” Conner noted.

Students who are in the program are referred by either teachers and/or school counselors.

As far as mentors, they are recruited in various ways, Conner noted. She said the program coordinators visit clubs, church groups, talk to individuals and leave brochures informing them of the program and, Conner said, some of the best recruits are the mentors themselves, who recruit others to join the program.

For safety sake, for all angles--students, school and even the adult mentors themselves, all mentors are screened and go through a background check as any employee in the school district would go through. “It’s (background check) is not a major ordeal,” said Marcum, “but a safeguard for the school and child alike. Mentors also have to complete a routine application process.

Also in the mentoring session, the adult and the child is never ‘left alone’ without someone in school personnel being near. Since it is in a school based setting, it is under a supervised situation. “The student and their adult mentor have space for themselves, but someone else is always around,” Conner said.

This past school year, some 37 students were in the program at the middle school and another 20 at the elementary school. However, there are always more students who qualify for mentoring than mentors themselves. Thus, the need for adults to volunteer in the program is always important.

When discussing the mentoring programs pilot year at Albany Elementary, Marcum termed it “great.”

“The staff and administration is very supportive, and they see the benefits that students gain from the mentoring program,” he added. He said the kids really looked forward to the visits from their mentors and the adults also obtain a very positive experience.

“Children need encouragement and friendship,” he continued.

As the programs Mission Statement itself implies, children are referred to the program for various reasons, including the lack of interaction with adults or not being able to thrive well in a school setting. Having that adult mentor to interact and do things with helps most youngsters look at school in a more positive light.

Even though the visits by mentors with the students are only once per week for the most part, both coordinators noted that both the student and the adult look forward to the visits.

And, the time spent is coordinated with each school as to not take much away from classroom time. Each school staff works around the mentors visits, they said. Conner also noted that mentors sometimes maintain contact with the student they help even during off-school months, usually by cards or letters. And typically, each mentor will stay with the same child from one year to the next.

She also noted the program was somewhat unique in that the mentoring program is the “in-school” setting.

Also, there is no real ‘cap’ on the number of students who can be referred for the program. “We have so many students who can benefit as long as we have the volunteers to match,” Conner said.

More mentors are needed and anyone wishing to become a mentor to a child or needing more information about the program in general should contact Conner at the middle school by calling 387-6466 or Marcum at Albany Elementary, 387-5828.