More volunteers needed

06:29 AM CST on Monday, January 23, 2006

By Lowell Brown / Staff Writer

Ask Milidtza Guerrero about the impact mentoring can have on a child, and one girl in particular comes to her mind.

DRC/David Minton

Becky Conklin, senior vice president of retail banking at Northstar Bank of Texas, speaks to eighth-graders from Calhoun Middle School as part of the Communities In Schools of North Texas Saturday mentor program on Saturday at Calhoun.

The girl’s case seemed dire. Ex­periencing significant behavioral problems at school, she was sent to alternative school and spent time with a mentor.

When she returned to school, the difference was dramatic, said Guerrero, Calhoun Middle School’s campus manager of Communities In Schools of North Texas.

“She really just cleaned up her act,” Guerrero said. “I think she sticks out in my head because it was a collaborative effort. It really exemplified the way a community can help one person come out of that rut that they’re in.”

The girl’s success story is one of many Guerrero said she sees regularly through her job with Communities In Schools, a nonprofit dropout-prevention organization with campus managers at area schools, including three in Denton.

The organization hopes to highlight its new Saturday mentor program in January, which is recognized as National Mentoring Month. The program began Jan. 7 at North Texas schools, including Calhoun.

The program, funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant, is one of several the nonprofit group will unveil this school year, said Gary Henderson, executive director of Communities In Schools of North Texas.

The organization needs additional volunteers to work with fourth- through eighth-graders from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturdays through the end of the school year. At Calhoun, the program will focus on academics every other week and “purely fun and games” the other Saturdays, Guerrero said.

Guerrero, whose caseload includes more than 100 students, said the program offers a way for the community to make a difference in the lives of at-risk children.

“Even the smallest relationship” makes a difference, she said. “I’ve seen kids who have hated coming to school and then have a mentor and it’s obvious on that day with their mentor, they’re on their best behavior.”

The organization has campus managers at Calhoun Middle School, Denton High School and Rivera Elementary School in Denton, but only Calhoun is participating in the Saturday program.

Henderson said the organization aims to remove obstacles that stand in the way of children staying in school by offering access to homework assistance, clothing and other necessities. The campus managers help match needy children with social service agencies that can meet their needs.

“I wish we had a Communities In Schools representative in every school because they’ve really helped, at each school, open the doors to encourage community involvement, which has a direct influence on the students’ academic performance and self-confidence,” said Denton school district spokeswoman Sharon Cox.

For some children, mentors act as the most reliable adults in their lives, Henderson said.

“A lot of the students that we’re working with, frankly, need a safe environment, need a safe place to be, and school is a safe place,” he said. “We deeply need volunteers; we don’t have a shortage of students.”

Mario De La Garza, campus manager for Denton High School, said most of the students the organization serves come from lower-income families. Many lack quality time with adults, he said.

Mentoring is “something that gives them something to work towards because someone other than themselves cares about how they’re doing,” De La Garza said.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com

TO VOLUNTEER

If you are interested in volunteering as a mentor in the Saturday Communities In Schools program or during the school day, call Yvonne Kyle, Communities In Schools mentor recruiter, at 972-436-6377 or visit www.cisnt.org to fill out an online application.