The mentor program at Gilmer High School is up and running.
What began with a questionnaire last fall has materialized into a program to aid and guide students through the high school stage of their lives.
At last Monday’s board of education work session, GHS principal Carla Foley discussed how the program was kick-started.
“Last October, we gave a survey to sophomores, juniors and seniors asking them what types of barriers they are presented with that are keeping them from graduating from high school,” she said.
“We looked at academic barriers, social and emotional barriers and community barriers. One of the things we found was about 150 of the students who were surveyed said they ‘would use’ or ‘likely use’ a mentor.”
Once this school new year rolled around, it was time to put plans into action.
“We told all of the students about this at the beginning of the school year,” Foley said. “When we got the applications ready and students were able to go in and apply, we only had 13 students apply.”
While the interest level was not as high as last October, that soon changed. Foley noted they “helped students identify this could be a good thing” and their apprehension was lifted.
Foley explained, “We sat down with our administrative team and counselors, and we looked at all of our students that we see on a regular basis who come to us as kind of their mentors and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in someone who can meet with you twice a month who can talk you though things you’re going through or about life changes in the future?’”
With a need present, it was time to find mentors and have them vetted.
Through the Partners in Education initiative, GHS teamed up with Collaborative on River’s Edge (CORE), which is a local workspace and business incubator for entrepreneurs and start-up companies.
“We had an opportunity with CORE to create this community mentor program,” Foley said. “(Aspiring) community mentors reached out to Kent Sanford or Dianne Scoggins at CORE and requested an application.
“That application included a background check, finger prints and an indemnity letter. The students at the high school work with Mr. Marshall, one of our counselors, to apply for a mentor.”
There were not specific educational or professional qualifications for mentors, only that they “have an interest in helping a high school student.”
“We’ve got people from all walks of life,” Foley said. “They’re involved in different careers. Some are retired, some are toward the ends of their careers and some are just starting who want to come back and mentor a student to say, ‘This is what the next four years might look like as you go to college.’”
Both mentors and students received training earlier this month. There are 44 community mentors who have been through the application process and approved. There are 38 students who have requested mentors, according to Foley.
“We try to pair the mentor with what the student is looking for so we want to make a good match,” she said.
“Once groups were selected, both go through training. We trained students a couple of weeks ago, and mentors were trained last Tuesday (Sept. 10) night. Once everyone had done all of their training and completed their application process, we paired the community person with the high school student.”
Mentors and students will meet twice monthly in the GHS media center. Some had their initial meeting as early as Friday, Sept. 13. Foley said all students and mentors will meet by the end of this week.