Walking alongside a student who needs an adult
January 17, 2007, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

By KATHRYN B. THOMPSON
EDITORIAL

When I tell people that I mentor a young girl at Fort Worth's Meadowbrook Middle School, the responses are usually predictable: "Wow, you must be a saint!" or "I wish I had the time to do that." Both intrigue me.

First of all, I am not a saint, as anyone who knows me well will readily confirm. It's not hard to be a mentor. In fact, it's fun. The girl I'm matched up with is a delightful young woman who seems thrilled each time I go to her school. She is interesting and funny and makes me laugh, and being with her makes me feel good about what I am doing.

Second, it does not take that much time. I see her several times a month, depending on our work and school schedules. In just that small amount of time, she gets the benefit of knowing that I care about her and I'm there to be her advocate, her friend and someone who occasionally can help her with math or reading.

When I moved to Fort Worth almost three years ago, I heard about TEAM Fort Worth, which is funded by a Department of Education grant and the Fort Worth school district. This school-based mentoring program is ideal for people like me who work full time but want to do something significant in the life of a young person.

It's a win-win situation for everyone: The school provides me with a secure place to mentor; the child and the family feel comfortable with someone who starts out as a stranger (but can become much more than that as the relationship develops); and the school benefits from having volunteers on the campus -- people who become advocates for individual students and the educational system in general.

Of course, students outnumber mentors. More than 80,000 students are enrolled in the Fort Worth district this year. Although every child might not be in dire need of a mentor, hundreds of them are: the students who are struggling, who are absent all too often and are falling behind; the children who live in economically disadvantaged homes with single parents who work multiple jobs just to make ends meet; the children who often go home to empty houses with no adult to talk with them, listen to them, help them with their homework.

These kids need mentors -- now.

Consider, for example, the typical boy or girl waiting for a mentor. TEAM Fort Worth serves children in the fourth through eighth grades. Many live with single parents or elderly grandparents, some of whom might not speak much English. There might be several children living in a home with one adult who is working several jobs. Because the adult's focus is on paying basic bills, the children might have to fend for themselves much of the time.

Many of these students have been waiting for mentors since school started in August, but no one has stepped forward.

How hard would it be?

A boy needs a man who will stop by the school to check on him, see how he's doing, encourage him to come to school and remind him that finishing the eighth grade and going on to high school is really important. A girl needs a woman to tell her that she is special, to encourage her in her schoolwork and to remind her that even though she might have to help take care of younger siblings now, school is important, too, and someday she can go on to college.

Just a few hours a month would make a world of difference to these children.
January is National Mentoring Month. It's not too late to become a mentor this school year. Hundreds of students are waiting at the 18 campuses where the TEAM Fort Worth program is focused. All they need is people to step forward and sign up to become mentors.

Trust me, you don't have to be a saint. You don't even have to have a lot of time. No special experience or skills are required. You just have to be willing to say, "I care, I believe in you, and I'm willing to be your friend."

IN THE KNOW
TEAM Fort Worth
For information on the Fort Worth school district's mentoring program, contact the TEAM Fort Worth office at 817-871-2291 or 817-871-2947.