Mentoring

The CFHS Mentor/Femtor program has developed into a high functioning monthly gathering of high school mentors with their elementary mentees.  Interested students work through a detailed and intentional mentor selection process and if accepted into the program, they are given support and encouragement from a team of staff to help them become good listeners, coaches to help mentees build their skills and confidence, motivators that exhibit a positive attitude and learning mindset, while also being a role model of hope, a friend whom one can trust, and just a fun person to hang out with during meeting times.  

Mentees are elementary students (in the same school cluster) in grades 3 – 5 who can qualify for the program with any of the following potential challenges:  struggle with truancy, underdeveloped social skills, difficult family issues, discipline issues, and have or are facing adverse situations.  The program accepts boys and girls and seeks to match them with a 10^th – 12^th grader who has been accepted into the program to serve as a mentor.  Group leaders (administration, guidance, social worker, and other teachers) provide mentors with support, guidance, encouragement, and reinforcement as it relates to their academics, behavior, and their community/family involvement.  Most of the mentors are students who have overcome their own obstacles and persevered through difficult life challenges themselves. Their victories serve to motivate and encourage them to fulfill their leadership role in the program.   

The Result
Quite simply, the program has created life-impacting moments, unlikely friendships, new perspectives, and changed the lives and trajectories of both mentors and mentees.