Dixon grade school adding mentor program

DIXON – A new mentor program at Jefferson Elementary School aims to help students who have a difficult home life, struggle with social skills, or just need someone to talk to.

About 20 mentors have signed on to spend 30 minutes a week with their designated mentee. The goal is to provide one-on-one interactions during lunch time, where the pair can play games, do puzzles and chat about school and life.

Principal Crystal Thorpe said some second- and third-graders encounter a lot of emotional hurdles, and this program will give them a stable adult to confide in every week.

“We just want to give the support we can give to whoever needs it,” Thorpe said.

During her time at Jefferson, she has seen children go through hardships, losing family members or coming from broken homes, single homes and foster homes.

“I’ve seen a lot happen in the last 2 years, things that you wouldn’t want an adult to walk through, let alone second- and third-graders,” she said.

Jenny Morse, a counselor for Lee County Special Education Association, is spearheading the program with Thorpe.

She wanted to bring it to Dixon after seeing the success of the mentor program at Sterling Public Schools, where she was a program mentor while working as a counselor.

She saw positive changes in student behavior, attendance, grades and overall emotional stability from those involved in the program, Morse said.

Sterling’s program is coming up on its sixth year and had more than 100 mentors at the end of the school year, Morse said.

She and Thorpe hope to expand the program throughout Dixon schools and possibly have mentors follow their students as they advance in grades.

The program will track students’ changes in attendance, grades and behavior with assessments at the beginning and end of the year.

Janet Freed, program coordinator in Sterling, will provide 1 1/2 hours of training for the new mentors in August; the program is slated to kick off in September. They have enough mentors – retired teachers, nurses, law enforcement, community members and others – to get things going.

Dixon Police Detective Jessica Garza is one of them.

The program is a way to help future generations reach their full potential and become leaders, she said, adding that she looks forward to the challenge – and to maybe even learning a few things herself.

MORE INFO

Contact Jenny Morse at jmorse@dps170.org or Crystal Thorpe at cthorpe@dps170.org for more information about the Jefferson Elementary School mentor program.