Mentoring program reaping rewards (05/11/06)

If scheduling a meeting with Barbara Downing, superintendent of Jay Schools, be aware that 10 to 11 a.m. on Monday morning is simply out of the question.

Someone else beat you to it.

It is during that hour that Downing sheds her administrative persona to be a mentor through the Kids Hope USA for a child too young to understand his new friend’s prominent position.

“I don’t think at first I thought I would have time to be a mentor,” said Downing. “But after some soul-searching I decided I could take an hour out of my week.”

The soul-searching, and schedule rearranging, began when Downing undertook the monumental task of performing three background checks each on 60 to 70 volunteer mentors.

“I know these people and I know that they don’t have another hour in the week,” she said. “If I can devote all this time to other tasks, I can certainly find another hour to mentor a child.”

Since January, 53 Jay County adults have found an extra hour a week to participate in a nationwide program that focuses on the ability for one individual to make a substantial difference in the life of a child.

One church pairs with one elementary school, and each church names one director to head the program for that pairing, keeping the program compact, organized and most importantly, consistent.

Children are selected for the program by their teachers and school principals, though Terry Fennig, program director at Westchester United Methodist, said that she has had a couple of requests come from parents as well.

Typically, the children in the program have an academic or social need that can be alleviated with an hour of one-on-one time.

The first schools to participate in the program were General Shanks, East and Bloomfield, paired with Asbury United Methodist, Westchester United Methodist, and Bryant Wesleyan respectively.

In March, Redkey Elementary School paired with Redkey Faith Ministries.

Kenny Haynes, the director of Kids Hope for Redkey Faith Ministries, said that he sees the need for positive role models for children every day as a custodian at Redkey Elementary and decided that his involvement in both the school and his church put him in a unique position to help.

“Just learning the child’s name makes a big difference” said Haynes, who added that teachers have joked that their students learned to tell time watching the clock for when their mentor would arrive.

Sherry Michael, a first-grade teacher at East Elementary School, said she was familiar with the program because she attends Bryant Wesleyan Church and now has four students paired with mentors.

“I just can’t say enough good things about the program,” she said, noting that she appreciates the mentors’ willingness to follow prepared lesson plans with the children.

“I like the way they come prepared, but will do whatever I have planned,” she said.

The benefit to the children has been immediate and immense.

Fennig related the story of a young boy whose teacher didn’t see him crack a smile all year long, but greeted his mentor with a toothy grin on only the second visit.

“That is huge confirmation very early in the program,” said Fennig.

At a recent dinner held for Kids Hope students, mentors and family members, success stories were passed around like the covered dishes brought to feed the large gathering.

Taylor Theurer, a fourth-grader at East Elementary who is mentored by Carly Fennig, was recently named an Eagle of the Month.

Second-grader Brittany Stoner, a Bloomfield student who is mentored by Cheryl Chrisman, had the uniquely satisfying experience of helping her older brother pronounce a word that had him stumped, when just a few short weeks ago pronunciation of some words left her scratching her freckled head.

Downing was so impressed with the difference seen in the mentored children, she called the nationwide director of the program to tell of its success in Jay County.

“I stopped everything to him and tell him the difference the program has made in just five months,” she said. “Not five years, five months.”

While the program directors say they delight in the successes of the children, their knowledge of the strength of the program kept them from being surprised, but that the positive affect on the mentors has been astonishing.

“We knew the kids would appreciate it, but the way the mentors have responded ... it’s just softened their hearts,” said Gary Maitlen, program director for Asbury United Methodist Church.

Maitlin also said that he has heard that some parents of children involved in the program say they now work harder to find more time to spend with their children, and mentors realize that they could make more time for their own families.

The future challenge to the program will simply be finding more mentors.

“So far we have met all the requests, but I know I will have to train more (mentors),” said Fennig.

Haynes also said he is continually getting requests for mentors.

“We are always recruiting and also probably will start recruiting with other churches,” he said.

Maitlen also said that he hopes to hold another event for all mentors and students and their families, and that mentors are encouraged to nurture the relationships built with their students and their families during the summer months.

In addition to nurturing the existing programs, Maitlen said he has been working to spread the word to other churches in hopes that all elementary schools in Jay County will be served by Kids Hope by the start of the 2006-2007 school year, a goal that Downing said she shares whole-heartedly.

“The real focus is getting the last three elementary schools on board,” she said, adding that one hour a week is a small price to pay for the positive influence a mentor can have on the children of Jay County.

“There isn’t anything that’s not done because of that hour,” she said, “but there is everything that is done in that hour.”[[In-content Ad]]