chool is one way of transferring learning, but another way is through mentoring that transcends the boundaries of the classroom. A mentor as defined by the Dubuque Community Schools Student Mentoring Program is an adult who is willing to be a friend to a young student. A good mentor is not someone who preaches or teaches necessarily, but someone who is there to listen and help the student find one's way in life. It's not another parent, but just a trusted, experienced, and nonjudgmental shoulder to lean on, an ear with which to listen, a hand up and not a hand out. It's not about academics, nor is it all fun time. It's quality time. It's the best time you can spend investing in youth. With so many single parent or two-working-parent households, adult mentors are in big demand.

A lot of fun was made of Hillary Clinton's famous book It Takes a Village, but it's especially poignant in this day and age. A lot of kids today are a little more stressed than in the days of yore before there were jet planes flying into skyscrapers. Every adult should take some responsibility for the success or failure of the young people in our community. It's easy to say, "They're not my kids." True, but then if you're not going to get involved and help, then how can you complain when some young whipper snapper disappoints you? At some level, we are all teachers, we are all mentors, and we are all responsible. Student Mentoring gives you a terrific opportunity to sign on and really get involved.

At Marshall Elementary in Dubuque, the Student Mentoring Program has been going on for several years. Many of the mentors stay with their students through high school. "Mentors are people who the student will remember for years and years," says Jeff Johll, coordinator of the program for the Dubuque Community Schools. "We have a wonderful group of volunteers in the program, and it continues to grow."

Marshall School decided that it's important for everyone involved in the program to be properly thanked, and this year they had a little help from the Noon Optimist Club and Cathy Moler, who, by the way, is a parent of a child who has had a wonderful mentoring relationship with another adult in the District. Her club offered to pay for a tree which would be ceremoniously planted in the Marshall Neighborhood Garden in honor of these mentors. The ceremony included the tree planting. Everyone had a chance to toss in a shovelful.

To learn more about the Student Mentoring Program (it would be great if you considered doing this yourself) we have a video clip (about 13 minutes) for you to view. View it by clicking on the appropriate button above. And you can also consult a special Web page which we have provided that goes into more details, plus offers information on who to contact if you would like to be considered a mentor. We would love to have you.

Click on any of the photos below to download a more printable version into your Web browser.

© 2000-2003 Dubuque Community Schools All Rights Reserved. No portion of this Web site can be reproduced without expressed permission of the Dubuque Community School District. Contact Dubuque Community Schools, Office of Public Affairs, 2300 Chaney Road, Dubuque, IA 52001. View our Privacy Statement.

If you are an employee of the Dubuque Community School Distrct, The Hub is for you. You need your building name
and password to gain access. Ask your school secretary or media specialist for that information.