Grauer Mentoring Program: Friendships For High School and Middle School Students

At the beginning of the school year, 11th and 12th Grade students can volunteer to be mentors to a middle school student. Alicia Tembi and Shelley Boniwell are the advisors for the mentoring program, and they match up the high school students with middle school students who want to be mentored. This program provides opportunities for peer role modeling from the older students and friendship for the younger students. The mentors are required to meet twice a month for 30 minutes with their middle school student mentee, although many of them meet more often. Students typically meet at lunch or afterschool to discuss topics of interest, talk about life as a middle schooler or high schooler, play sports or board games, and enjoy each other's company. Dr. Stuart Grauer remarked, "This program is a great pride of our school—it's really a perfect representation of what's best about our organization." 

This year, there are 15 mentor/mentee pairs, and they met with Shelley and Alicia for lunch on Tuesday, November 30. All of the students in the group introduced themselves and talked about what they hope to achieve through their mentoring partnerships.