A Decade of Mentoring at Finley
Regardless of age, mentoring can be a powerful experience in anyone's life. The mentoring program at J. Taylor Finley Middle School has been having a positive impact on the lives of students there for the past decade and it's still going strong.
Finley's program was founded by longtime guidance counselor Sandra Dick, who has since retired and handed over the reins to current Finley foreign language teacher Mary Lou Leonetti. "We love the program," Principal John Amato said.
Here's how the program works: Ms. Leonetti gathers a list of student names that are submitted by teachers, guidance counselors, administrators and other school personnel. "The students who we want in the program are students who could benefit from the trust, guidance and support of an adult in school," explained Mr. Amato. "It does not have to be a teacher. We have aides and security personnel who have been mentors."
Once the list is finalized, Ms. Leonetti assigns each student an adult mentor. Sometimes, one adult will have two mentees. Once assigned, the mentor and mentee meet during the school day to talk about school, friends or just life in general.
"The program is meant to build positive relationships between supportive adults and students who need the emotional support," Mr. Amato said. "We currently have 50 student mentees and over 30 adult mentors."
After a decade of mentoring at Finley, the program is more popular than ever. "The impact of a program like this should never be underestimated," Superintendent John J. Finello said.