Groton ― Jennifer Ursini volunteered to be a mentor because she wants to give kids something to look forward to when they come to school and provide them a safe environment to try new activities.

She wants them to feel special.

Ursini was doing just that on a recent Friday afternoon as she chatted with her mentee, third-grader Jorielis Davila, 8, at a table at Catherine Kolnaski STEAM Magnet School. Jorielis colored in a heart with magic marker for a sign she was making for her mother that said “mom.”

Ursini, who works as a math tutor, is one of more than 50 adults, including school staff members and community members, who have signed up to mentor a Groton child and meet weekly at the school for half an hour to do arts and crafts, play games, and talk with and listen to the child.

The school district is working to expand its mentoring program and raise awareness of it, particularly as January is National Mentoring Month.

Jennifer Anthony, director of Groton Public Schools’ student mentor program and a math specialist at the Catherine Kolnaski STEAM Magnet School, said the long-standing program started 26 years ago, but over the years the number of mentors dwindled.

Educators saw the need for children to have one-on-one attention. Last year, the Board of Education decided to re-energize the program in recognition of students’ social-emotional needs, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, Anthony said.

Anthony said the program currently serves 55 students in first through ninth grades, with more students on the waiting list. There was a big push last year to prioritize fourth and fifth graders, because the transition to the consolidated Groton Middle School can be a big transition for some kids. As the students move up to high school, the mentorship will entail more career counseling.

Teachers and staff refer students who could benefit from some additional adult attention, and the student is then matched to a mentor, Anthony said. The K-12 program helps students with socialization and self-esteem building, Anthony said.

Students want to go to school and are more engaged in the classroom because they know that there’s somebody in their corner, she said.

“They understand that someone believes in them, that someone is willing to give of their time every week to just come and meet with them, and that makes them feel that they have an advocate, they have someone who really wants to spend time with them,” she said.

Mentors make a one-year commitment to mentor a child, with the hope that the mentors will continue to mentor the child beyond that time, Anthony said.

Mentors and mentees

On the same afternoon, fifth grader Annalise Julius, 10, was chatting with mentor Maggie Lyons, a first grade teacher, about her weekend plans and making “lava lamps” in jars by mixing water, oil, food coloring and a fizzing tablet.

Lyons said being in fifth grade is hard for anyone so it’s good for Annalise to have a positive role model who’s not looking for the right answer on the math test or applying any academic or social pressure.

“I know she really looks forward to it every week, and I do too,” said Lyons.

“I like how I get to teach her all the math we do in math class and I get to do science experiments like this with her,” Annalise said.

“It makes me very happy for the rest of the day and knowing that I get to come back next Friday and see her,” she added.

Fifth grader Amaryis Mckinstry, 10, was sitting down to have lunch with her mentor, Leigh Sammons, and friend on Friday morning. Amaryis said it’s fun to have a mentor and they do activities, from decorating cookies to making posters for a community service project.

Amaryis said a couple of years ago, she was feeling shy with all the kids around her, but she is now talking a lot.

“It’s helping me to get to know more people and to talk to more people and open up a little bit,” she said.

A few mornings a week, Sammons, a math tutor and a retired teacher, has the duty of making sure students aren’t running down the stairs, and she enjoys seeing the smile on her mentee’s face.

“It really warms my heart and makes me really happy to see her coming down the stairs smiling just because she’s a happy kid ― not because of me ― because she’s a happy kid, and I always get a big hug,” said Sammons.

Recruiting mentors

Anthony said the school district is always looking for more mentors and a more diverse pool of mentors to better reflect the school district’s student population and mesh with the schools’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement. The statement says a crucial part of the school district’s mission is to be diverse, equitable and inclusive and ensure everyone feels valued, engaged and and empowered.

Anthony said mentors enjoy seeing the progress their mentees are making and enjoy listening and being part of the students’ futures and successes.

Anthony said people interested in becoming mentors can submit an interest form on the school district’s website. The process for becoming a mentor includes a phone interview, the checking of their references, an online application, and a background check. Anthony meets with them one-on-one for a final interest survey to get information on their interests and availability and the students also do an interest survey, so students can be matched with a mentor who shares their interest. Lastly, potential mentors attend a one-hour virtual training.

Best friends

Fourth grader Rowan Whitehouse, 9, who was new to the Catherine Kolnaski school this year, has done origami, rock painting, worked on drones, and planted and watered flowers in a garden with her mentor.

“It lets me have a little break from class, and I have fun and I get to spend time with my mentor, and me and my mentor are friends,” Rowan said.

Her mentor, Cheryl Beaulieu, a magnet specialist at Catherine Kolnaski, said the mentorship experience has reignited her love of teaching and the one-on-one time allows her to really get to know the student and have fun.

Mentee Bryan Davila, 10, a fourth grader, said he plays basketball, goes outside, and plays Uno and Topple with his mentor, Groton resident Sara Newberry. Bryan talks to her about his upcoming basketball game, and Newberry has talked to Bryan, who is interested in the military, about her husband who is in the Navy.

Newberry said she wanted to become a mentor because she has always done community work and she thinks growing up it would have been very helpful for her to have a mentor at this age.

Fourth grader Terrance Belcher, 9, was playing basketball in the gymnasium with his mentor David Gruber, a physical education and health teacher, and then Bryan joined Terrance in a game of soccer.

Gruber said he has seen a lot of growth and maturity from Terrance over the last two years.

“I feel like he’s my best friend,” Terrance said.

More information on the mentorship program is available at: https://www.grotonschools.org/aboutus/human-resources/mentor-program

k.drelich@theday.com