Opinion: A Mentor Can Change A Life

[Note: The following article was submitted by Beth Yando, principal of Dolbeare Elementary School.]

The Wakefield schools are fortunate to have programs that benefit students.  is a program for elementary through high school students.  This program was started by director Bob Eldridge in 2001 and has impacted many lives. Currently, Paul Simpson is the contact person for the elementary schools.  He has been a great asset to the program.  At the present time we have students at Dolbeare who work with a mentor.

Adults in the Wakefield community volunteer their time to mentor students in Wakefield.  They are required to go through a training and then are assigned to students who have been recommended by classroom teachers.  The first meeting the mentor has at the school is with the building principal and often with the parents.  This gives the principal or parents an opportunity to share additional information about the student.  The mentor communicates with the classroom teacher to pick a time that works best for the student.  Mentors work with the student once a week and this becomes a treasured time for the student.

When students first meet their mentor they sometimes can be very excited or timid.  Recently, a student was introduced to their mentor and could not believe the mentor was for him.  The student showed up early in the morning all smiles and could not stop talking. Another student shared that when she first met her mentor she was nervous because she did not know her.  After a few visits with her mentor the student has developed a relationship built on trust and friendship.  An older student in the school who has worked with his mentor for a few years shared that his mentor is another person to talk to or help with school projects.  Students do not like when their mentor is unable to meet at their weekly scheduled time.  One student found out from his mentor that he would not be able to meet one week because his car needed to be fixed.   The student told his mentor I will have my mother pick you up because she is not busy.  The mentor found this very humorous, but more importantly his mother did pick up the mentor and the student was able to meet with him. 

The support and friendship a mentor gives the students in Wakefield is vital to their academic, social, and emotional success.  This relationship helps students build confidence and lets them know someone cares. Thirty minutes each week does not seem like a huge amount of time, but the impact it has on a student does change their life.  Some students work with their mentor through their high school years.  I encourage all of you who have any free time or want to make a difference in a child’s life to consider becoming a mentor.