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SHS
Class of 1956
Mentoring Projects |
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After discussions about a class gift to Sheffield High School by The Class of 1956 at our 2006 Reunion got going, and academic excellence was identified as a worthy goal, the preliminary planners exchanged some ideas about why all kids don't achieve academic excellence. This talk led to the idea of our class getting behind an effort to provide encouragement and support for "at risk" kids. So far, our Internet research, input from teachers and volunteer helpers at schools, publications and intuition tell us that failing to achieve academic excellence is a complex issue that is a widespread problem in the nation. Some of the causative or contributing factors mentioned are: STUDENT FACTORS Poor Health Lower IQ Adverse Peer Pressures Reaction to Adverse Family Environment Suboptimal Personality and Relationships Skills Substance Abuse FAMILY FACTORS Economic Disadvantage Low Parental Educational Level Parenting skills Suboptimal Personality and Mental Health Issues Substance Abuse SOCIETAL FACTORS Generally Lower Affluence & Educational Level of the Community as a Whole Community Demographics That Favor Production of More "at Risk" Children Susceptibility and vulnerability of School Administrators to Parental Pressures
We've identified mentoring as a tool that would seem to have a reasonable chance of neutralizing some of these factors and would be reasonably doable by our class.
Four years ago, Sheffield City Schools implemented "Mentor a Child," a mentoring program headed by Gina Mashburn, a 1983 SHS alumna. There are 53 grade school students from W. A. Threadgill Elementary School and L. E. Willson Junior High School matched with SHS students who are providing support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement, and constructive examples to their charges. The downside is that there are other students--mostly males in grade school and many of the high school students who need mentoring-- waiting for someone to provide them with this kind of care and concern. Recently, enough adult volunteers have come forward so that Gina has been able to match 11 "at risk" high school students with an adult mentor.
Dr. Richard Gardner, Superintendent of Sheffield City Schools, was excited to hear that we, as a class, might consider the possibility of working with the mentoring program. Should we take this on as a class project, those of you who live in the Shoals area would be asked to consider going to the high school (or an elementary school, if you prefer) for 30-45 minutes, one day per week. That's all the time that is devoted to this program that makes a significant improvement in many of the students' academic performance. Dr. Gardner suggested that if only 15-20 of us did this, it would be the "starter" group that would lead to recruiting adult mentors from other alumni classes and a larger number of students served. There already is a "starter" group now, so our new proposal is that our class support this program by volunteering in large numbers. The time commitment is not great; the payoff in personal satisfaction and a "difference" in the life of a student will be monumental.
Some of us believe that alumni who don't live right there in the Shoals area would make good mentors from a distance, i.e., by Internet contact. There's plenty of information about the nature and the successes of these programs on the Internet. Unfortunately, institutions are so sensitive to the "Internet predator" issue that the suggestion of this avenue of support is not meeting with enthusiastic response. We would like to hear from you about how you think the concerns might be addressed to allow contributions by some of us who would like to help, have the time and means to help and have the integrity that would disallow any improper relationship between mentor and student. After all, what's to prevent improper relations between Shoals area mentors and students?
Another worthy idea that has surfaced is that our class become active in recruiting the support and active solicitation of public volunteer mentors by respected agencies right there in Sheffield--the Mayor's office and local churches and Sunday schools, for example. I suspect that Dr. Gardner and Mr. Wicks have made such appeals, but our efforts can do nothing but reinforce their compelling arguments for this support.
Mentoring works, because mentoring shows kids who are in a downward spiral that there are other options and other people who care.
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