The importance of adult mentoring

By Martin Merzer on 11/19/2010 @ 09:24 AM

Under former Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida once was the national leader in mentoring programs that connect children with caring adults, but funding has decreased and many mentoring programs have suffered.

Despite that, more than 200,000 adult Floridians are volunteering some of their time to work with children who need their guidance and support and attention.

We need to fortify these programs and regain our status as a national leader in this field.

Here is an article from the Tallahassee Democrat that takes a look at Leon County's excellent mentoring program:

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By Iricka Berlinger
Democrat Staff Writer
November 14. 2010

They talked about school, work, family, life. Their nearly 50-year age difference didn't bother them at all.

The two talk man-to-man every Tuesday — something that has become a steadfast tradition for the eleventh-grader and his mentor. Thomas, priest at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, is a big part of the Rickards student's life. He has been since elementary school. Thomas has followed Josh from Kate Sullivan Elementary to Raa Middle and now at Rickards.

Leon County Schools' mentoring program has a solid foundation built by mentors like Thomas. After a strong push for mentors by former Governor Jeb Bush, the community has embraced the concept of connecting one-on-one with a student.

"I try to support him whenever I can," said Thomas, who has attended Josh's school plays and speeches.

"We can talk about anything. It's just like any granddad and grandson," said Josh, who lives with his mother and sister.

It's a relationship both take seriously.

To be a good mentor, Thomas said, you have to be yourself and be a good listener, but most of all a good mentor must care.

An hour a week

Betsey McCauley, mentor coordinator for Leon County Schools, promises that just an hour a week can change a life.

She has seen it over and over again during her 25-year career.

"Some kids just need an extra push," said McCauley, who began the school district's mentoring program.

Leon County Schools had about 1,200 mentors last school year — a number that has stayed steady over the years.

The number of mentors in the schools spiked when former Gov. Jeb Bush made recruiting mentors a priority. It eventually declined along with the downturn in the economy. But McCauley is pleased to see the number gradually increase.

"I am happy to see how many mentors we have, but we can never have enough," she said.

McCauley's definition of a mentor is one who is trained and committed.

Different from a school volunteer, a mentor's background is checked and fingerprints taken. She also holds training each month for new mentors to prepare them for the experience and go over the rules.

Most importantly, McCauley wants to drill the importance of the mentor being present each week. But all she asks for is an hour of their time.

"You're making a commitment to the student to be there once a week," she said.

Once trained, the school coordinator pairs the mentor with a student. Teachers, with a parent's permission, nominate students to receive the extra help.

But McCauley pointed out that it's not the students with the lowest grades who are necessarily paired with a mentor. Teachers look for students with social-emotional needs who would benefit from the extra attention.

"Students have more reasons than their grades to receive a mentor," McCauley said. "Sometimes a student just needs a friend." 'Anyone can be a mentor'

The school district's program began in 1985 with eight mentors at Gilchrist Elementary. Now, almost every school has a program.

A school must designate a coordinator to work through the paperwork and match mentors and students. Not all schools choose to do this.

At some schools a parent takes on the responsibility; at other schools, a staff member.

Leslie Mason, a parent at Roberts Elementary and mentor coordinator, has made it her goal to have 50 mentors by the end of the year. The school began with eight mentors this year, and Mason has helped grow the program to now 30.

"We just had to get out there and ask parents," Mason said.

Mason insists that even at Roberts, an A school, mentors can make a difference.

"I think every child can benefit," Mason said. "Teachers have seen the changes in the classroom."

At lower performing schools, like Nims Middle, McCauley is proud to say that the community embraces the schools and offers extra help. Sharlene Jones, mentor coordinator for Nims, is working with 245 mentors, up from 50 last year. To pair them with students, she has targeted the lowest 35 percentile of students.

"We have had an amazing outpouring of help. I think a lot of it has to do with our grade," Jones said about the F school.

Nims has partnered with organizations like 100 Black Men of America and Florida State College of Medicine's SSTRIDE (Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity & Excellence) program that has dedicated 200 undergraduates to come weekly to the school.

Jones' goal this year is to have each student paired with a mentor.

"There has been a contagious fever," Jones said as she walks the halls of Nims. "Students are asking for mentors."

For her students, Jones believes that mentors are crucial to their success.

"While all kids can benefit from a mentor, we specifically need them here," she said. "Not all kids get the support at home. Mentors can give them a different view of life or how to excel or how to become encouraged."

Jones insists that anyone can be a mentor.

"Anyone can be a successful mentor as long as their willing and eager to catch a student and take them to the next level," she said.

An initiative

In 1999, an initiative by Gov. Bush created a large wave of mentors.

The help came flooding in when Bush allowed state workers a paid hour every week to mentor. The hour is still being offered.

"We incorporated the most ambitious mentoring initiative with our education reform efforts and I believe the thousands of new mentors helping struggling students helped create rising student achievement," Bush said in an e-mail interview.

Local attorney Steve Uhlfelder, a mentor for the past 25 years, played a critical role in establishing the Governor's Mentoring Initiative. "Steve Uhlfelder was my mentor for mentoring," Bush said.

Uhlfelder told the governor that he must lead by example before urging others to mentor. Bush mentored a student at Raa Middle almost every week during his terms.

"Mentoring at Raa Middle School put a human context around education. It grounded me hanging out with the middle school students," Bush said.

After Bush's time in the mansion, the Initiative became the Florida Mentoring Partnership and is run by Volunteer USA. Uhlfelder is still chairman.

"This has been the most important thing I've done in my life," said Uhlfelder, who has mentored at most Leon County schools.

A 2009 study completed by Volunteer USA shows that there are 212,146 adults mentoring in Florida.

"Mentoring in Florida is different than in much of the nation. We tend to stress not only being a friend, but encouraging academic growth," said Liza McFadden, director of Volunteer USA. "That's why mentoring in our state is funded through the Department of Education, and why, frankly, Florida has the largest in-school mentoring programs in the nation."

This past session, the legislature approved an additional $5 million in funding, which the education department has used to start or expand mentoring as part of supplemental school services.

McFadden is confident the funding will continue as Gov.-elect Rick Scott included mentoring in his education plan.

Uhlfelder still keeps in touch with Rickey Richardson, then an 11th-grader he mentored almost 20 years ago at Rickards.

Now, 36, Richardson said that time with Uhlfelder "changed my life."

"I could have gone in a totally different direction," said Richardson, who works at the Department of Health and has a family. "I didn't go to class or even think about graduating."

As his mentor, Uhlfelder was there for Richardson. He helped him get his driver's license and even gave him a job at his law firm. "I saw the impact that one person could make on someone," Uhlfelder said.

Their relationship is mirrored in the one that has grown between Josh and Thomas.

"Father Thomas has been my rock," Josh said about his longtime mentor. "In fourth grade he gave me his word that he would follow me through college, and he has stayed true to that."

Making a difference

The difference mentoring makes is proven in the relationship built.

A 2007 study done by Public/Private Ventures shows children who are mentored:

• Are 46 percent less likely to have started using illegal drugs.
• Are 27 percent less likely to have started using alcohol.
• Show 32 percent fewer incidents of hitting someone in the previous 12 months.
• Are less likely to skip school.