Inspired by a neighboring school district, the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District saw an opportunity to engage the community in improving the lives of their students, and the results of their efforts are paying off. In October 2021, with the help of AmeriCorps VISTA member Chelsea Koeppen, the district implemented a school-based mentoring program, whose mission is to become a DIFFERENCE MAKER.
The program engages committed and talented volunteers in a valued partnership with teachers and staff to enrich the lives of their students, with the aim of helping them become effective communicators, problem solvers, responsible citizens, and productive people. To do this, elementary students are partnered with caring adults from the community. The adult volunteers take on a mentoring role, spending one hour a week with their mentees doing activities like playing games, reading books, having lunch together, helping with homework, or just talking about their days.
Koeppen’s motivation for this program as an AmeriCorps VISTA member comes from her love and care for children and a desire to see them succeed. “Students at young ages need positive adult relationships to help encourage school engagement and socialization. COVID-19 affected both of those things a lot, so the more positive interactions we can get children, the better off they will be.”
Starting a mentoring program from the ground up and ensuring it will last is a lot of work. Koeppen took inspiration from a neighboring school district—Independence—as she put together a handbook and began recruiting volunteers. “Recruiting community members to come in once a week and interact with children has definitely been the most difficult part,” Koeppen reflected. “There will always be students who can benefit from having a mentor.” The district has recently seen an influx of volunteers signing up to be mentors, but recruitment is never over. She hopes that the mentors who are currently serving, many who are prominent members of the community, will share their positive experiences and inspire others to become involved.
“All of our volunteers say that coming into school and hanging out with their mentee is the highlight of their week. They look forward to time spent reading and playing games with their mentee. This relationship is just as beneficial for the volunteer as it is for the student.” Koeppen went on to say that mentors report feeling a better sense of community, and a strong sense of pride in helping to develop young people.
Most importantly, teachers have noticed positive effects in the students who have been paired with mentors. Mentees who teachers noted were previously disengaged in class and not motivated to attend school are now excited to be in the classroom. They look forward not only to their time with their mentor, but to learning in the classroom. Students are more engaged, and are learning social skills, which leads to enhanced self-esteem for the children.
All those results are exactly what Koeppen had in mind when she began working on this project. “I saw an opportunity to affect my community, meet more community members, and grow personally while doing something with a greater purpose. Improving the lives of elementary students certainly checks all those boxes for me.”
The program is gaining momentum in the community. In addition to the increase in volunteers, a local bank recently awarded a grant to the program for the purchase games and activities for the mentors and mentees to use. If you want to learn more about Vinton-Shellsburg’s mentor program, you can reach out to Chelsea at Chelsea.koeppen@vscsd.org. To learn more about Mentor programs in Iowa and around the country, you can visit the Iowa MENTOR website, as well as the MENTOR National website.
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