Athens Schoolkids Benefit from Mentors

The Clarke County Mentor Program has been pairing Athens school children with caring adults for more than 20 years. More than 400 mentors have touched the lives of 5,000 Clarke County students.

“We believe everyone can benefit from a mentor,” said Paula Shilton, who’s been the program’s director for six months. “An adult comes to your school, visits with you, motivates you and keeps showing up. It’s a wonderful thing for a child’s self-esteem.”

Years ago, the Clarke County Mentor Program began as an initiative between the and the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce.  

The organization is now an independent non-profit agency, with a board of directors and office space and resources donated by the Chamber.

Some mentors and mentees have relationships that began in elementary school and continued through college and career. The program asks mentors to commit to being involved for at least a year, which means seeing the child a minimum of one hour a week, to receive training and to submit to a background check.

Research has shown that 18 months with a mentor has a positive impact on reducing the dropout rate and raising graduation rates. The mentors can introduce children to new ideas, Shilton said, and show them a wider world.

Many of the mentors in Athens are University of Georgia students, who are valued for their enthusiasm and energy, but who usually move on after a year or so. Shilton would like long-term residents to get involved, especially African-American men and men in general.

“At every elementary school and every middle school, children are on the waiting list for a mentor,” she said. “Their school counselor and parent have said yes, and we’re just waiting for someone to sign up.”

Before going to the Mentor Program, Shilton worked for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic and directed Prevent Child Abuse Athens.

Since her arrival, she has developed a website and now sends a monthly e-newsletter to every mentor. She plans to streamline and improve data collection and look at some outcome measures, in order to help with fund-raising, she said. And she hopes to have get-togethers for all the mentors, so they can share ideas.