Mentoring program kicks off at Zephyrhills High School

"Being a mentor is almost like a mission," said mentor David Marshall, "It's something our community needs."

By MICHELE MILLER

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 22, 2000

ZEPHYRHILLS -- If Cindy Nobles had her way, every child in Pasco County would have an adult mentor.

As coordinator for Take Stock in Children, a program that provides college scholarships and adult mentors for at-risk seventh graders, Nobles said she has seen the positive results when adults get involved.

"These kids want this," Nobles said. "We hear them saying all the time, "Having a mentor keeps me on track.' "

That's why Nobles had no problem pitching in when it came to kicking off a Mentor Program at Zephyrhills High School.

Nobles was one of the speakers who gave a little insight on the art of mentoring to members of the school's advisory council at a mentor training class on Thursday. Lori Hartwig, director of communications for the Pasco School District, also was on hand to give some helpful hints on communication techniques. Saybra Chapman, a grant resource specialist and former high school guidance counselor also shared her experience working with adolescents.

The request for the mentor workshop came from members of the school's Advisory Council, which wanted to become more of a resource for the school, said SAC member David Marshall.

"We're worrying about what happens to the kids who drop out," Marshall said. "When the question went out (to the advisory council) as to who would be interested in becoming a mentor, everybody's hand went up."

Marshall, whose children have graduated from Zephyrhills High School, has served as a tutor at Weightman Middle School and now gives his time to a mentor program sponsored by the Batson-Cook Company at Oak Grove Middle School in Tampa.

"You do it out of a sense of wanting to help somebody," Marshall said. "But I get more out of it than the kids."

With today's harried schedules there's little doubt that children are spending less and less time with their parents and other adults who could serve as positive role models, Chapman said.

"Being a mentor is almost like a mission," Chapman said. "It's something our community needs. As a community we have to plug in because in today's world parents give up parenting too soon and support people give up."

But having someone who is interested and supportive could make a big difference for a child teetering on the edge of failure.

"When you look at resiliency studies of adults that made it but shouldn't have because of their background or circumstances, they found that three things came into play: they had a caring adult who was involved in their life; there were high expectations; and there was a meaningful relationship with the community," Chapman said.

Tammy Kay Ryman, a mother of two -- Chad, who is a junior at Zephyrhills High School and Christian, an eighth-grader at Stewart Middle School -- said she was more than happy to sign on as a mentor.

"It's sad that our kids have to grow up so quick," said Ryman, who has served on school advisory councils since 1986. "I think this is wonderful; we need to get the whole community involved."

That's something that Jim Schienle, a guidance counselor at West Zephyrhills Elementary School who attended the mentor workshop, said he would love to see.

Schienle is working hard to get a mentor program going at his school and so far has three mentor prospects. That's a start, but he'd like to see at least 20 male mentors sign on.

"Attitudes and opinions about things like race and morals are already solid when these kids are 6- to 8-years-old," Schienle said. "The longer we wait the more unlikely it is that we can cause a variation in those attitudes."

"There's just not enough male mentors," Schienle said. "We have the Big Brothers program, but you have to wait two years (to get assigned one) -- that's too long."

"We need to create a condition at school where children can find success," Schienle said. "We have to realize that kids in general look for an indication that they have value, and the only place they often see that is in the eyes of adults."

How to help

Interested in becoming a mentor? At West Zephyrhills Elementary School call Jim Schienle at (813) 929-6300. At Zephyrhills High School, call Dave Marshall at (813) 221-7575. At the Take Stock in Children Program: Cindy Nobles at (813) 794-2466 or (352) 524-2466.

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