Help wanted: KCPS seeking mentors
Kansas City, Mo., School District officials hope an old adage resonates with adults metro-wide: “No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.” The district seeks to give urban youngsters, especially at-risk students, support, guidance and tools for success through a year-old mentoring initiative. It’s working to recruit women and men volunteers for “Success Mentors” and “Lunch Buddies,” programs serving K-12 students.
“We need at least 300 mentors just to match students currently on the waiting list,” says Derald Davis, assistant superintendent.
The goal is to recruit, train and match adults willing to commit to spending 30 minutes a week with a student. Success Mentors serves K-12 students; Lunch Buddies pairs adults with elementary students.
“Each student will get the one-on-one time and support (s/he) needs to be successful in school and ultimately in life,” Davis says.
Mentors must be 18 or over, provide their own transportation, present character references, complete an application and training and pass a background check. There’s no maximum age limit.
“They just need to be caring adults. We give training so they can go in and build a relationship with a student and make a difference,” Davis says.
Mentors must be English-proficient, but not necessarily fluent. The district has the state’s largest ELL population. Bilingual mentors would be a plus in supporting migrant students.
Adults of all races and ethnicities are welcome, but the need for Hispanic and African American male mentors is acute. Minority students account for 90 percent of the district population, but only 12 percent of current mentors are black or Hispanic men, Davis says.
Success Mentors is open to all KCPS students, but it’s geared to middle schoolers who are chronically absent or at-risk or girls and boys whose parents or guardians have requested their involvement, Davis says. Lunch Buddies, new this year, needs women and men to invest time once each week being “a supportive friend at lunch time.”
The district just trained 113 new mentors that it’s matching with students; 125 volunteers returned this year to mentor again. They will be paired whenever possible with their former mentees.
Students can sign up for the mentoring programs throughout the school year. Enrollment is ongoing. Students or their parents can apply at their school. There are parent consent forms in each of the district’s 24 schools with a mentoring program. (Next year, the district plans to have mentoring program in all district schools.)
Research shows that mentors matter in student performance, Davis says. “Fifty-two percent of students with mentors are less likely to skip school; 55 percent are more likely to enroll in college, and 90 percent want to be a mentor when they get older because they saw how important it was to their own success.”
The district is tracking the academic performance of students participating in mentoring programs. In just the first year, Davis saw improvement in attendance and grades.
“Two out of three young people in Kansas City don’t have access to a caring adult – a neighbor, a pastor – someone to help and support them,” Davis says. “We need as many mentors as possible to significantly increase positive student outcomes. People can make a difference by mentoring in our city. The need is great.”
Adults interested in becoming a mentor can learn more about the program online at https://www.kcpublicschools.org/mentoring or by contacting 816-418-7676 or sclinton@kcmsd.net.
