Program seeking mentors
The Utah State Financial Aid Office is now offering students a chance to get paid for mentoring local elementary and junior high school students.
The Logan City School District Mentoring Program is an after-school course designed to assist elementary and middle school students by assigning them with a mentor who plans educational and life-enhancing activities for them.
The program has partnership with the Utah State University Financial Aid Office that allows mentors to be paid if they participate through a work-study program and meet certain qualifications.
Shane Frazier, mentoring coordinator for Logan City School District, said, “It’s a when-win situation, meaning that when adults get involved with local kids, everybody wins.”
Research done by Michael Karcher, associate professor at the University of Texas, has proved that students don’t do as well in school when they do not have encouragement, Frazier said.
“Once a little person has a broad knowledge base and someone who believes in them, the sky is the limit,” he added.
A mentee, the person being mentored, spends four hours with their mentor a week. Two hours are scheduled for academic lessons and the other two hours are for enrichment activities. The enrichment activities are planned by the staff and are usually things that the mentee would not do normally with family.
Mentees are recommended by their teachers to participate in the program. Teachers choose students who would benefit the most from one-on-one time with an adult.
“The mentees come from all different backgrounds, whether it be ethnicity or other things like that,” Frazier said.
Mentors and mentees are paired based on similar interests and personalities. Ethnicity and gender are also factors.
Mentor Heele Mascaro said, “Working with the kids is so much fun and I’ve learned a lot. It’s great to see them get older, grow closer with them and to see them succeed in school. Working with kids isn’t always fun and games. It can be a challenge as well.
The Logan City School District Mentoring Program began in April. Frazier expects they will help 70-100 students throughout the 2005-2006 school year. Logan City School District receives federal grants allowing them to provide mentor programs for students.
“Many of the children who are chosen to be mentored are on the brink of success – they’re at a crossroads in life where a good role model could make all the difference,” Frazier also said.
Anyone interested in volunteering with the LCSD Mentoring Program can contact Frazier at shanef@ext.usu.edu. Students interested in mentoring through work study can contact Todd Milovich in USU’s Financial Aid Office or at todd.milovich@cc.usu.edu.
-ariek@cc.usu.edu