A new school-based mentoring initiative will begin at Tilton Elementary School this fall, launched by Team Haverhill.
Called the Haverhill Youth Mentor Network, the program will match 25 fourth-grade students with individual mentors who will provide crucial academic and social support. Leaders of Team Haverhill hope that this project will expand civic engagement by mobilizing the talents of our residents in support of our city's students and our school system.
Meeting throughout the past year, representatives from Team Haverhill, Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill's youth service agencies and the Haverhill Public Schools have planned this initiative and coordinated the program's structure. This organizing work occurred during high-quality training sessions offered by Marty Martinez, program director of the Mass Mentoring Partnership.
One member of the core planning group is Diane Franz, a Haverhill resident and senior director of community impact for The United Way.
"After considering many identified community needs," she said, "Team Haverhill chose to address the academic and social challenges faced by our city's youth. With guidance from both The United Way and Mass Mentoring Partnership, they have launched this mentoring initiative."
The cornerstone of the model utilized by the Haverhill Youth Mentor Network is a weekly, hourlong, individual mentoring session offered at the school. This one-to-one time is designed to enhance both the academic and social aspects of a child's education. Developed with the cooperation of our previous superintendent of schools, Raleigh Buchanan, and supported by our present superintendent, James Scully, the pilot program will begin in October.
"I know how important it is that schools seek to have an impact on the whole child," says Tilton Elementary School Principal Mary-Beth Maranto. "Today, students and teachers are involved with more than just academics. A successful education requires the development of a well-rounded child and schools cannot do it alone."
Each adult volunteer will be paired with one fourth-grader, so that strong bonds may develop through the course of the year. A special curriculum for the mentor-mentee experience will provide each adult-child team with a helpful but relaxed structure, clear goals, and continuous support.
The Haverhill Youth Mentor Network has adopted a set of "best practices" that were explained during the orientation sessions conducted by Mass Mentoring Partnership. For example, potential mentors will receive two to four hours of formal training before they start meeting with their mentees, supplemented by quarterly group meetings where all mentors will receive additional support and training. Mentors will be provided with information on the academic skills that students are working on at their grade level, along with sample activities that mentors can do with the children to promote these skills.
Safety must, of course, be a top priority in a mentoring program. Potential mentors will be screened through an interview process and must pass a Criminal Offender Record Information check. All mentor-mentee meetings will occur at the Tilton Elementary School, under the supervision of both the program director and Maranto.
To guarantee the success of the program in this first year, the Haverhill Youth Mentor Network is seeking two kinds of support from citizens and local businesses. First, the Network needs help getting the word out to civic-minded members of the community about this unique opportunity to invest themselves in our city's rising generation by serving as a mentor during the 2010-2011 school year.
Second, the Network has put out a call for financial contributions of any size. The immediate goal is to match a $10,000 challenge gift by Oct. 1, so that a paid program director can be engaged.
For more information on how you can volunteer with or donate to the Haverhill Youth Mentor Network, visit the Network's special page on the Team Haverhill website, teamhaverhill.org/hymn, or contact Franz at The United Way (dfranz@supportunitedway.org or 617-624-8185). R
esidents and businesses who wish to contribute to the program can also send a tax-deductible donation to the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce, marked as a contribution to "H.Y.M.N."
"We at Tilton School are honored to be selected by Team Haverhill for this project," Maranto says. "I am pleased by the level of commitment, professionalism and attention to detail that has been expressed by this group. I look forward to launching this program in October and encourage all community members to positively impact a child by becoming a mentor. This is truly a win-win opportunity!"
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Eric Karlstad is vice chairman of Team Haverhill.
Congratulations, Haverhill, for River Ruckus!
The River Ruckus festival this past Saturday was a huge success that required the support of our whole Haverhill community to accomplish.
The River Ruckus Organizing Committee of Team Haverhill offers its heartiest thanks to the scores of energetic volunteers who pitched in; our slate of generous sponsors; all the collaborating organizations, institutions, officials and departments; our huge line-up of talented artists; dozens of co-operating vendors and downtown businesses; hundreds of patient downtown residents; teams of technical experts who gave us marvelous sound and dazzling light effects; and — most important of all — everyone who showed up to make it a wonderful party. Haverhill, you are awesome!
