Mentoring initiative helps students

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By Holly Kline

Indiana’s Education Roundtable (www.in.gov/edroundtable) estimates that one out of five Indiana students drop out of high school. According to the Roundtable, a student without a high school diploma may lose about $500,000 in potential earnings during his or her career and possibly cost a community an extra $500,000 for social services.

Darren Heil, Executive Director of Youth Mentoring Initiative, seeks to change these numbers. YMI is a local nonprofit organization that works exclusively with Hamilton Southeastern schools to provide a mentoring system to students in the intermediate grades through high school.

“We’re seeing that 5 percent of total enrollment in the HSE intermediate schools and up, which is about 600 students, can benefit from our help,” Heil said.

YMI’s mentors are adult volunteers and their focus is on coaching and guidance, not tutoring. YMI provides a training program for mentors and Heil hopes to add 30 more mentors for the upcoming 2014 semester. Mentors usually spend one hour per week with their student during the day at the student’s school.

Heil emphasizes that any youth can benefit from having a tutor, not just at-risk kids.

“Academic stability starts way before high school,” he said. “We want to help a kid create good study habits, turn in homework and just talk about social stuff.”

Having a mentor is voluntary for students. A school identifies students who could benefit from the program and contacts the parents to discuss matching their child with a mentor.

“The schools want to be proactive,” Heil said. “They want to provide services to students who need support.”

Heil has found that if a student is failing three or four classes, it’s usually personal issues driving that behavior.

“Some kids complete their homework but just don’t turn it in because they’re afraid it’s wrong,” he said. “We play an encouraging role, maybe directing kids to services that they didn’t know about.”

Heil hopes to spread awareness about YMI and get the community involved in mentoring. An informational meeting will take place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Fire Station 91 lower training room, 2 Municipal Dr., Fishers. Those interested can register at ymionline.org.


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