Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 18, 1995 TAG: 9503200008
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``They look at you and listen so closely,'' he said. ``You try to find a story that is related to the thing you want to talk about.''
Hobson and 22 other students are discovering how one person can make a difference in a child's life through William Fleming High School's Minority Mentorship Program. The project was developed to provide positive role models for kindergartners and first-graders at Westside.
Every other week, students in the mentorship program go to Westside to read and talk with pupils about school behavior, classroom performance, good citizenship and helping others. Some also work with the pupils one-on-one.
Hobson, president of the senior class at Fleming, said the community service project gives the high school students a chance to test their leadership skills.
``We are trying to use some of what we have learned. The students have observed their own mentors and we want to give back something,'' said Syrenta Martin, a senior.
On a recent sunny day, seniors Taheerah Muhammad and Diveda Barlow read and played outside with the elementary pupils.
Taheerah urged the pupils to pay attention to their studies as they grow up. ``It's important to do your schoolwork if you want to drive a car, get a job and have a family someday,'' she told them.
Kim East, a kindergarten teacher at Westside, said interaction with the Fleming students has been good for the elementary pupils. The Fleming students are good role models, she said.
The Fleming students participate in a four-year-old mentorship program designed to help provide positive role models for black students - and to encourage the development of academic and social skills.
Wanda Spraggins, a counselor at Fleming, said the program has focused on encouraging students to graduate from high school, showing them college options and promoting self-esteem.
Students are paired with adult mentors who closely follow their academic and personal lives. The team of 15 mentors represents different professions and vocations. Several are Fleming graduates.
The students and mentors meet one Saturday a month to discuss issues such as youth violence, racism, AIDS and interviewing and job-search skills.
The group takes field trips to college campuses and museums and theaters for cultural events. Members also participate in sports events to develop team spirit.
The mentorship program was started in 1991 by Herb Roper, an Allstate Insurance Co. executive who was once a student teacher at William Fleming.
Roper understands the problems of black youngsters after growing up in a low-income neighborhood in New York. As a student teacher, he worked with George Miller, a Fleming teacher and coach who is still at the school and helps oversee the mentorship program.
After earning his college degree Roper went into insurance instead of teaching, but did not lose his desire to help students.
Roper patterned the mentorship program after ones in other cities, with one significant difference: It serves both males and females. Many programs serve only males.
``I wanted to do it for both boys and girls,'' he said. ``We wanted to provide positive role models who would promote academically and socially responsible behavior.''
Roper said several colleagues at Allstate's offices in Roanoke helped him plan the program and get it started. He put together a group of 15 mentors.
Roper was transferred to Allstate's office in Washington last year, but he remains active in the mentorship program. He comes to Roanoke for the monthly discussions. He has the students' phone numbers and calls them whenever they need assistance.
Spraggins, who works with the program at Fleming, said the students still look to Roper for guidance because he has overcome obstacles and demonstrated what can be accomplished if a person dreams.
Spraggins said the mentors, students and parents have to raise their own money to finance their activities.
``Everyone is so close that it is like a family. The parents come to the meetings and are part of the group,'' she said.
Miller, the teacher and coach, said there is only one rule for the students when they enter the program.
``Be good or be gone,'' he said.
Some students said the mentorship program has helped them improve their grades.
"When I started in high school, grades didn't make that much difference to me," said Carlitia Coles. "But they talked to me about my grades and how they are important, and now I'm doing a lot better."
Taisha Claytor said the program has given her confidence and hope. She feels better about herself and her goals.
Muhammad said the mentorship program has enabled her to meet more people and helped her improve her grades. "They have helped us on our academics and provided tutoring," she said.
Muhammad plans to attend Winston-Salem State University and study political science. She wants to become a corporate lawyer.
"You are looking at the leaders of the school in the program," said Alyce Szathmary, Fleming's principal. "It has helped improve their leadership skills."
The size of the program is limited by the number of mentors. "If we had more people who would be willing to be mentors, we could have more students," Spraggins said.
Students are nominated for the program by parents, school officials and mentors. They are chosen by school officials.
Some students are already looking forward to becoming adult mentors after they graduate.
"I hope people will remember me positively. I would like to be a mentor after I graduate," said Hobson.
Roper said he hopes that other program participants will want to become adult mentors. And he hopes that students will continue to undertake community service projects.
"I hope they can set examples for others," he said.
She said a quotation by the late Benjamin E. Mays, president emeritus of Morehouse College, serves as a philosophical foundation for the program:
"It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goals. The tragedy of life lies in having no goals to reach."
Serving as a mentor to the Westside Elementary pupils has been a rewarding experience, she said.
"They get really excited and then they get so quiet when you read to them," Claytor said.
School officials said the mentorship program helps provide a better image for William Fleming.
"As an educator, I feel that the Roanoke Valley needs to know that teen-agers can be a positive force in the community," Spraggins said. "The public needs to constantly see the positive images of teen-agers."
by CNB