Having a mentor can mean gaining a “grandma,” someone to talk to anytime, even a new friend!
When the Community-Based Mentoring program launched the priority for African-American girls, Bertha Smith (known fondly as Ms. Bertha) was a sensation! She accepted, not one, but two 6th graders as mentees. During the 2018 Meet and Greet event, Ms. Bertha met her mentee, Aaliyah, and her mother. Their connection was immediate! Another mother observed their interaction and requested Ms. Bertha as the mentor for her daughter, Danika. After discussing the challenges and possibilities of serving as a mentor to two girls, Ms. Bertha accepted the opportunity.
The district’s Community-Based Mentoring program is one program with three priorities. Launched in 2009 to serve African-American boys with mentors from the community, the program has grown over time to include on-site mentoring services at local schools as well as mentoring services for African-American girls, and most recently, Hispanic boys and girls. The program provides mentoring services to identified students to enhance their social and academic development, resulting in our students becoming successful and responsible young adults.
In a meeting with the girls and their parents, Ms. Bertha learned that her mentees shared common schedules as well as common challenges. Both were failing several classes. Ms. Bertha went right to work… helping Aaliyah and Danika to set individual goals, meeting regularly to address assignments and attend events, monitoring each girl’s progress toward her individual goals, and identifying the rewards if goals were met.
Throughout the school year, Ms. Bertha and the girls met at a local library on a regular schedule. While Ms. Bertha advocated for her girls with their teachers, she also held her mentees accountable for their grades, attendance, and behavior. By the end of the school year, their hard work had paid off! Both girls were recognized at the End of Year Celebration for their participation, improved grades, attendance, and minimal behavior infractions. More importantly, both girls met the personal goals they had set with their mentor. Their reward? A special evening with Ms. Bertha and her family at Medieval Times Dinner Show and a visit to Malibu Fun Park.
While school counselors, teachers, and family members all play a role in keeping students in school and learning, the involvement of a mentor can make a meaningful difference. And Ms. Bertha helped make a difference for her two mentees, Aaliyah and Danika. Both girls ended the school year with improved grades, good behavior, and strong attendance. With Ms. Bertha’s example, they learned to support one another and became friends. Best of all, Aaliyah and Danika now share a goal of attending college!
Our Successful Program
Here are statistics that show the success of our priority serving African-American girls:
180 African-American girls in 6th grade served in the program in 2018–19 through one-on-one and small-group mentoring
187 Mentors for this priority in 2018–19
12 Schools served by this priority
2018 Year the mentoring priority for African-American girls was launched
95% Mentees passing Language Arts class in 2018–19
95% Mentees passing Mathematics class in 2018–19
87% Mentees passing Science class in 2018–19
92% Mentees passing Social Studies class in 2018–19
32% Mentees with fewer than two absences
86% Mentees with fewer than two discipline incidents
How to Get Involved
“Watching the girls in the Community-Based Mentoring Program mature and develop over the past two years has been an amazing experience! Not only have the girls grown, but their parents and mentors have come to believe even more deeply in mentoring. We are so fortunate to have individuals who desire to be the difference. Thank you, mentors! Thank you, parents! Thank you, mentees! Thank you, community, for making a difference in OUR lifetime!” says Janice Warren, the director of Academic Support who leads GCPS’ African-American Girls Mentoring Priority.
If you are interested in being the difference, consider becoming a mentor for the African-American Girls Mentoring Priority, which serves girls attending middle schools in the Archer, Berkmar, Brookwood, Central Gwinnett, Dacula, Discovery, Duluth, Grayson, Norcross, Peachtree Ridge, Shiloh, and South Gwinnett clusters.
To become a mentor in the program, you must be 21 or older, able to commit to a minimum of one year as a mentor, attend a GCPS volunteer mentor training session, and complete a background check and an application. Mentors and their mentees make weekly contact and participate together in one-on-one sessions, group activities, and special events.
Prospective mentors are invited to attend one of these upcoming training sessions:
Thursday, Jan. 30, at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 26, at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The sessions will be held at the Community-Based Mentoring Program offices at Buice Center, located at 1225 Northbrook Parkway in Suwanee.
Learn more about the mentoring program for African-American girls by going to our website at www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/mentoring, calling Mrs. Warren at 770-226-4254, or by sending an email.