America Reads program needs mentors for students

The Daily Inter Lake

Are you interested in making a difference in the life of a Flathead High School student?

The America Reads program is a great venue for doing just that. And right now, the program needs you.

Coordinator Kane Hines will conduct an orientation session to introduce adult mentors to the program from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 26 in the second-floor Social Studies Resource Center room at Flathead High.

It's a chance for community volunteers to mentor students for 10 weeks. In turn, students in the program develop positive adult relationships in their lives and learn how to enjoy reading.

The federally sponsored program draws on adults in the community to provide one-on-one tutoring with students who need a little support in their reading.

At Flathead High, that expands to a mentoring relationship. Mentors commit to working with a single student for a half-hour once a week for 10 weeks. During that time, the mentors and students share reading.

The goal of America Reads is to reach as many students as possible. The program dovetails well with other class work, supporting the student's reading requirements elsewhere. Research shows, Hines said, that students in America Reads programs improve their reading scores.

Only a desire to make a difference in a student's life is required to be a mentor. To ensure success, matches are made with the input of the mentors, students and teachers.

During Tuesday evening's training, mentors will receive all materials they need, a tour of the facilities and a chance to ask questions or air concerns.

Call Hines at 751-3572 or e-mail her at [email protected]