Mentoring is a fashionable term. We hear the word in television commercials, read it in print, and hear about it as part of many personal growth programs. But what part does it play in everyday life?

The dictionary defines mentor simply as a “wise and trusted counselor,” but to a number of students in the Oxford Area School District and to their adult volunteers throughout the community, the term has a greater significance. 

Since 1995, the Oxford Educational Foundation (OEF) has been operating a mentoring program and has placed hundreds of mentors in the Oxford Area School District schools. Volunteers and students from their community are matched with the expectation of developing a continuing relationship between a child and a positive role model. 

With parent or guardian permission and the necessary clearances and training, the OEF encourages mentors and students to meet at least once a week, usually during the school day. Building on the mentor-mentee relationship, this may lead to visiting the library or museum, or attending a sporting event or school activity.  The program can be effective if the relationship between the adult and youth is based on the following: personalized attention, caring, mutual respect, trust, and commitment, along with positive and high expectations for both mentors and students. 

Many times, these students have difficulty handling conflict, and the mentor is an excellent resource for offering alternative solutions to problems. The goal of the OEF program is to help provide a positive outlook on life by building self-esteem, developing coping skills and forming attainable goals for the future.

The program’s impact on individual students can be noticed in the student’s increased school attendance and academic success, decreased discipline referrals and improvement in social skills.  It has an impact on the lives of the mentors as well. Mentors have reported a sense of satisfaction in recognizing that they can make a difference.

The program is not a cure-all for the needs and challenges of today’s youth, but it can provide a meaningful, positive relationship in the life of a child who otherwise may receive very little encouragement.  These children need to know there is someone to whom they can turn, not only when they have difficulties, but also when they experience success. 

According to Dr. Raymond Fischer, the executive director of OEF, the key to a quality mentoring relationship is to have a caring adult who is consistently there for a mentee. The Oxford Educational Foundation mentoring program promotes this ideal by carefully matching such an adult with a mentee and by providing ongoing support to both.

Did someone make a difference in your life? Would you like the opportunity to give back?   Contact Nicole Prinsloo, the OEF volunteer coordinator at [email protected]  or Dr. Ray Fischer, executive director, at [email protected]  if you are interested in becoming a mentor for an elementary, middle or high school student.