- Gadsden County School district is launching a mentorship program to increase its graduation rate
- GCSD's graduation rate is currently 74%
- Watch the video to see who can be a mentor
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The school year is almost over but Gadsden County School leaders are working on how they can serve their students better for next school year.
I'm Ashley Engle your Quincy neighborhood reporter. Gadsden County School District is launching a mentor initiative to give students positive role models to look up to. I spoke to one neighbor who is signing up to be a mentor.
"You have to be committed and it has to come from the heart," says Jefferson Flores. He says he wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for the mentor he had when he was in school.
"My mentor at school was making sure that everything was in place that I wasn't trying to go off in the wrong path."
Now, he wants to be a mentor to help a student excel.
"It's a sacrifice to impact for better life of a student to help them grow or become a better person."
The "Be A Mentor" initiative all comes after the district looked at student performance data from 2021 to this school year.
Just this school year, 43.6 of students have had two or more referrals.
Superintendent Elijah Key says this initiative can help.
"We're looking for the positive individuals in our community. Community leaders. The other professionals in our community."
People in Gadsden County or in surrounding areas such as Leon County, can sign up to mentor to a student.
Key says they are matching at risk students at Carter Paramore Academy with mentors first.
"At risk students are students that are having attendance problems students who are having behavior problems. Students who are in the juvenile justice system."
School district believes this program could increase their graduation rate.
" You see them graduate from high school, you see them graduate from middle school and you see him become somebody he dreamed of, there’s no price on that."
Gadsden county's graduation rate in 74%.
"Just from research, a positive influence in a student’s life, actually helps them do better academically as well as increasing their behavior and just their attendance in school when they have a positive adult person that is a part of their lives."
Being a part of student lives for them to have a positive outcome.
"You never know maybe a word you say or an act of kindness, something you give them or something you say, can change a life"
This mentorship initiative is volunteer based. Updates on the program will be posted ot the Gadsden County Schools website.
In the Quincy neighborhood, I’m Ashley Engle, ABC 27.
