THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609120344
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 97 lines
Their first meeting nearly a year ago was a bit awkward.
There was Latina Murphy, a shy fourth-grader at Monroe Elementary School in Norfolk. And there was Monique Little, a Tidewater Community College sophomore, nervous about making a good impression.
But not to worry. The two have become best pals - like sisters, you might say, which is appropriate since Little serves as Latina's mentor in a school-based mentoring program sponsored by Big Brothers/Big Sisters of South Hampton Roads.
``I've learned a lot of things,'' Latina, now a 10-year-old fifth-grader, said Tuesday. ``I got better at reading, I got better in division. I learned how to handle my sister. We have fun.''
With a new school year under way, Little is eager to pick up her friendship with Latina, helping the youngster work through personal problems - like the girl who once taunted her - tackle spelling and vocabulary and talk about any subject under the sun.
``I can say that it has made me feel good about myself,'' said Little, 24, now a junior social work major at Norfolk State University. ``There's a lot of young girls out there who really need someone they can talk to and confide in.''
Little was among the first crop of about 100 volunteers who helped launch the mentoring program for boys and girls in five elementary and middle schools in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
This school year, Big Brothers/Big Sisters officials have an ambitious goal to add five more schools in Norfolk and to triple the number of volunteers.
The nonprofit agency has teamed up with the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority to reach into schools serving the children of public housing neighborhoods. They hope to recruit at least 200 volunteers.
With government cuts to social programs becoming a fact of life, volunteers are more critical than ever, officials say.
``Nonprofits are emerging as the answer to many of the problems we have,'' said Johnna Coleman, coordinator of the mentoring program. ``I think we're going to have to rely on groups like churches, civic clubs, community organizations and businesses, because any cuts in programs are going to affect the entire community.''
Coleman said many of the children they hope to pair with mentors come from low-income families and live in neighborhoods where crime, drugs, poverty and teen pregnancy extend like tentacles to ensnare them.
``There is a major need for positive adult role models who can work with kids to keep them on the right track and interested in education,'' Coleman said. ``This is the only way we're going to make holistic change in the community - to get involved.''
In the program, mentors spend an hour a week with a child at the school, working one-on-one with them on academics, attitude and self-esteem.
Little said she spent 30 to 45 minutes on school work and 15 minutes ``just talking.''
Mentors at Norfolk elementary schools this year will be asked to focus on reading skills, part of a systemwide initiative to ensure that children are proficient readers before they leave elementary school.
School officials noticed improvements during the initial year. Some children spent less time in the principal's office for misbehavior, while others raised their school grades.
At Monroe, where 50 mentors were paired with children last school year, Principal Barbara Hargrave-Higgins said the effort had a ``phenomenal impact'' on the school's learning climate.
``Somebody was their friend, somebody cared about them,'' Hargrave-Higgins said. ``When kids know that somebody cares, they are more likely to give their best.''
Norfolk students at Ruffner Middle School also participated last school year. In Virginia Beach, students at Seatack Elementary School and Plaza and Landstown middle schools were involved.
With the NRHA's help, the program will expand into Tidewater Park and Campostella elementary schools, Lafayette-Winona Middle School and Lake Taylor and Booker T. Washington high schools.
Jackie Baker, NRHA's youth program manager, said the goal is to link elementary students with adult mentors who will work with them through high school.
``We hope to reduce the number of kids suspended and expelled from school and to improve the graduation rate,'' Baker said. ``Having somebody they can turn to, somebody they can trust, is going to make a big difference with a lot of these kids.''
Children at Monroe endorse the program wholeheartedly.
``He made a difference on my manners and stuff,'' fourth-grader Raton Tharp said of his mentor.
Added fourth-grader Carlistle Peek: ``She helped me on my homework and schoolwork and a lot of things I didn't know at first. I told her I wished she was my real sister because she treated me so good.'' MEMO: Adults who want to become volunteer mentors can call Johnna
Coleman of Big Brothers/Big Sisters at 490-KIDS or Jackie Baker of the
Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority at 623-1111, Ext. 328. ILLUSTRATION: LAWRENCE JACKSON photos
The Virginian-Pilot
Monique Little, left, helps Latina Murphy, 10, at Monroe Elementary
School in Norfolk. Little, 24, a junior social work major at Norfolk
State University, said: ``There's a lot of young girls out there who
really need someone they can talk to and confide in.'' by CNB