By Sarah Peters
news@thepaperofwabash.com
There is a growing number of children across the United States, including here in Wabash County, whose social and emotional needs limit their motivation and ability to learn during the school day. Kids Hope USA is a nationwide mentoring program that helps make a positive difference in a child’s life who may be struggling with this.
It has been in existence for 21 years and today has 1,069 programs in 32 states across the U.S. In Indiana, there are more than 155 programs. In Wabash, there are three different Kids Hope programs a child can sign up to help them benefit from the extra attention and mentoring.
Metro North Elementary School is in its third year with the Kids Hope program. Bachelor Creek Church of Christ is the partner church, led by Director Ryan Rosen.
“Seeing the excitement in the eyes of our kids when their mentor shows up is one of the most rewarding things in my life,” Rosen said. “It’s hard to believe that one hour a week can have a profound impact on the life of a child, but it does!”
Currently, there are about 50 kids in the Metro North/Bachelor Creek Kids Hope program.
Southwood Elementary School is beginning its second year with Kids Hope, partnering with Wabash Friends Church. This program is led by director Lauren Dale.
“I am grateful for the supportive staff at SES and for the devotion of all the mentors from the church,” Dale said.
There are 15 children involved with Southwood/Friends Kids Hope.
This school year, O.J. Neighbors School, partnered with the First United Methodist Church of Wabash and the Presbyterian Church in Wabash, will begin it’s first year of having a Kids Hope program, led by Director Tracy Peas.
Mentors will begin meeting with students in September at O.J Neighbors.
The support from Principal Danielle Miller and the school staff has been overwhelming, according to Peas.
Kids Hope is a church and elementary school partnership that trains and matches mentors with a child based on the child’s needs and personality and on the mentor’s availability.
While this is a church/school partnership, no religious activity of any kind takes place on school property and mentors are trained to abide by the rules of the host organization, respecting church-state separation.
Kids Hope mentors are not tutors, psychologists, or counselors. Rather, these mentors are individuals who care about the community and who want to invest in a local child’s life and well-being.
Each mentor is paired with one student for one hour a week during the school year.
During their time together they play games, read books, talk, and have fun. Even though the mentors are not tutors, if the child’s teacher wishes for them to have assistance with a particular assignment or project that they are struggling with, they may also spend some of their time working on that.
This program’s goal is to focus on the child’s emotional, social, and academic needs. Having a mentor that is consistently beside them and encouraging them during the time in their lives when morals, self-confidence, and academic skills are developed can help children become better learners.
Over 50 percent of the requests for Kids Hope programs come from teachers and principles. Teachers also say that 99 percent of students benefit from their relationship with their Kids Hope mentor, improving in their overall attitude and behavior, which often boosts academic performance.
Directors, teachers, and principals believe that the benefits of having a Kids Hope mentor are huge because if a student is struggling with needs beyond academics, having a mentor provide one-on-one attention to the child may make all the difference.
“Kids Hope has been a real blessing to the Metro North family,” Metro North Principal Janette Moore said. “Seeing both the church community and education community come together to invest in those students whose needs are the greatest has been a match made in Heaven.”