THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994                    TAG: 9406140143 
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON                     PAGE: 04    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940615                                 LENGTH: Medium 

MENTOR PROGRAM HELPS AT-RISK STUDENTS

{LEAD} The hulking military men in full uniform dwarfed the child-size chairs they occupied in the library of Plaza Elementary last Friday. Next to them sat six young boys, oversize T-shirts draping their bodies, trying hard not to fidget and whisper to each other.

The scene would have been comical if not for the importance of the occasion.

{REST} It was the closing ceremony for Plaza's five-month-old mentor program, designed to rescue the six African-American boys who participated from slowly losing interest in school and eventually failing.

Research shows that African-American males enter school with about the same skill levels as other children, but around the fourth grade their achievement begins to drop off, said Connie Bowen, a school psychologist at Plaza. An analysis of Plaza student records showed that some African-American boys there had the same problem - their test scores showed that they were bright, but their grades and behavior were poor.

``They were not working up to their ability in the classroom,'' she said.

So Bowen and other Plaza staffers decided to try pairing some boys with successful African-American men, who would act as tutors and mentors. They called the program the Empowerment Group for African-American Males.

Oceana Naval Air Station's Personnel Support Detachment, which has been Plaza's adopt-a-school partner for four years, offered volunteers, who came to the school twice a week on lunch breaks to meet with the boys one on one. One weekly session was devoted to helping the boys with their school work, and the other was just for talking. Once a month, all the mentors and boys met as a group.

The emphasis was on academics, but the kids also got healthy boosts in self-esteem, particularly through lessons about black history. At Friday's closing ceremony, for example, the school librarian sang the black national anthem.

``I think I learned just as much about myself and self-esteem and black heritage and African history as the students learned,'' said Dwayne L. King, a personnelman at Oceana and one of the mentors.

Principal Pamela A. McKinney said teachers have reported significant boosts in grades and fewer behavioral problems. McKinney said the program likely will be expanded next year.

The kids ``used to talk sports and girls. That's all they talked about,'' said guidance counselor Patricia G. Menard. Now, Menard said, the students can be found talking about academics, and taking bets on each other's grades.

by CNB