Elementary Mentors Help Build Futures for Windsor Students

Mentoring is tutoring for life. While a tutor may help a student pass a history test, a mentor also helps a youth create a future.

Michael Novak and his wife Denise (Chief Social Worker at Kennedy School) raised their kids in Windsor and sent them through the Windsor school system. Eight years ago, with his own kids grown, Michael started as a mentor for the elementary school. When asked what special talents he had for mentoring he humbly and quickly exclaimed,"absolutely nothing," but Denise chimed in with, "he's a really a great dad."

Novak has always been interested in helping kids succeed; he's been a coach for a special needs Little League team and also with the Special Olympics. But the mentoring is different; it is a one-on-one commitment to a child who really needs a connection. "No matter who you are, you can bring something to mentoring," says Novak. "You can stand as an example, in some terms, to a child. It is what we do."

Mentoring is a very low-key and inexpensive program to help kids be successful. The volunteer mentors meet with youths at lunchtime every week during the school year to talk, play games, or work on a project together. For the child it is an opportunity to be seen in a totally different light by someone who isn't a teacher or a family member. It is a chance for the student to have someone dedicate their time solely to them, to value them, and to listen to them for a half hour or so. 

The initial meeting between the mentor and the child can be challenging as they introduce themselves and start to converse. On the other side "Graduation is kind of tough," states Novak, who mentored one child from second through fifth grade, then the boy moved on to the middle school and Novak stayed behind to work with the younger children.

Novak  likes to"engage the student in thinking beyond their current life." He brings maps in and talks with the student about the places he has been and where the student has traveled or would like to go. Recently, Novak had been to Philadelphia to visit his daughter so he brought in a map from his trip. The lunchtime discussion involved the distance traveled and some history of Philadelphia, but as a conversation not a lesson. The mentor may prompt the discussion, but the youth has the opportunity to lead it and the direction of the mentoring session.

Many times the session is spent on very serious games of "Candy Land" or "Don't Break the Ice," which gives the student a chance to just be a kid and relax. The games are the only expense to the program and were provided by a grant from the Windsor Education Foundation.

There are many benefits for these children who have dedicated mentors. "A relationship is built and the student is a little more motivated and a little more invested in learning (improved behavior)." reports Denise Novak. There is as sense of pride about having a mentor. It is not unusual for a student to bring a friend in to meet their mentor and hang out.

Michael Greenwood coordinates the Windsor Public School Mentoring Program and is pleased with its success. "Mentors build a bridge to the future", says Greenwood. He noted that the mentors give the students a different view of themselves and glimpse of what is possible. Currently there are 30 students in the program district wide with 17 more looking for mentors.

Greenwood provides mentors with two hours of training, and works to match the students with the mentors. A mentor is required to have a background check and to be consistently able to show up every week for the half hour to an hour session with the student. There are two other qualifications: mentors need to be good listeners and be willing to occasionally play 49 consecutive games of  "Candy Land."

To learn more about the Mentorship Program contact Mike Greenwood at 860-687-2000 ext. 266 or via email at mgreenwood@windsorct.org.