Memorandum from Mary Kay Murphy
Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D. District 3  School Board Member marykaymurphy@aol.com

May 9, 2011

GCPS Mentoring Program Takes Off 

For the second straight year, the Gwinnett County Public Schools Community-Based Mentoring Program has brought together middle school boys and men who provide support and encouragement at a critical time in the young men’s lives.

Dr. James Taylor serves as Executive Director of Academic Support for GCPS. He is assisted in the program’s administration by Mr. James Rayford, Director of the GCPS Department of Academic Support, and Mr. Andrew Toney, Instructional Coach.

The mission of the program is to provide community-based mentoring to identify at-risk students to help with their social and academic development.

There are two goals of the program. The first is to recruit, train, and retain men for the community-based mentoring program to provide support and encouragement for at-risk young men in the middle school.

The second goal is to enhance the GCPS commitment of a world-class education by providing assistance through mentoring to help students make decisions that will positively impact their lives and prepare them for high school.

Nearly 200 boys and more than 150 men have participated in the two years that the program has operated. Events are held throughout the school year, primarily on the week-end. Mentors and their mentees have traveled to Huntsville, Alabama to the NASA facility and to Clark Atlanta University for a college visit and recruiting event.

Also, they have held team sporting events where mentors and their mentees play basketball and discuss the importance of team building, body conditioning, healthy eating, and any other number of life choices and skills.

Most importantly, mentors are available to the young men on a daily basis, assisting them with decision making, listening to their views, following up on their challenges and successes.

Mentors come from throughout the Gwinnett County community. Some are recruited by friends in the program. Others are recruited by those with whom they work. Whatever their calling, they have one important thing in common: their desire to lend a hand to bring a young man along the path of making good life choices and opening doors to future life successes.

At the second annual GCPS Community-Based Mentoring Program End-of-Year Celebration Dinner, mentors and their mentees gathered at the GCPS Instructional Support Center to reflect on the year’s work and achievements.

Mr. Donte Lloyd provided a mentor’s perspective on the meaning of the year’s program to him.

Ms. Capricia Kegler, the parent of a young mentee in the program, provided her perspective on what the program has meant to her middle school son—and to her.

Mr. Kentrell Cockrell, a GCPS middle school student, spoke about the program’s impact on him and the role his mentor, Mr. Charles Rivers, has played in Mr. Cockrell’s life changing experiences offered through the program.

Mr. George Lewis, a mentor in the program, developed a video that captured highlights of the Community-Based mentoring program of 2010-2011. His video was itself a highlight of the evening’s program and provided a lasting memory of the year’s events for mentors, mentees, family members, teachers, counselors, principals, and others involved in the program.

Mr. J. Alvin Wilbanks, CEO/Superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools, spoke to the mentors, mentees, and family members during the evening’s festivities. He congratulated the young men on their achievements and thanked the mentors for their leadership. 

Students from Peachtree Ridge High School’s Orchestra provided music for the program. Mr. Andrew Toney. Mr. James Rayford, and Mr. Ronn Grace of the GCPS Office of Human Resources served in key roles during the program.

Congratulations to the GCPS Community-Based Mentoring Program on its two-year record of achievement and continued success in sustaining this important community-based program.

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