January is National Mentoring Month. The Round Rock ISD mentor program matches interested elementary, middle, and high school students with adult volunteer mentors. During these times of virtual school and physical separation, mentors meet with their mentees virtually every week for 30 minutes. Some mentors and mentees get creative while getting together and play games via virtual video.
The need for positive role models is vital as families deal with the stress of the COVID-19 public health crisis. Grief, unemployment, and isolation are prominent and stressful issues in many student’s households.
Seth Flowers mentors a freshman at McNeil High School. “To have the ability to get to know these young people and have a part in inspiring them to do great things is priceless,” said Flowers. “I assure you I learn more from my mentee than he learns from me.”
Mentorship can play a pivotal role in a child’s life. Research shows that students who have a mentor have better attendance, show improved attitudes toward school, and gain the confidence to make positive life choices.
“We are thankful to the mentors who have adapted to the virtual format and have been a constant source of needed support for our student mentees,” said Rebekah Van Ryn, Round Rock ISD mentoring coordinator. “We want the mentoring experience to be as rewarding for the mentor as it is for the mentee.”
There are more than 400 District students, Pre-K through grade 12, who need a mentor. Learn how to become a volunteer mentor to a Round Rock ISD student.
National Mentoring Month launched in 2002, originated by the National Mentoring Partnership and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The month-long campaign focuses national attention on the need for mentors and how each of us—individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and nonprofits—can work together to increase the number of mentors to help ensure positive outcomes for our young people.
