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Mentors help turn tardiness into triumph for one SPS student
Posted by Communications Staff on 1/18/2023 1:00:00 AM
Jordan Powell was walking by the Shadle Park High School library one day when he was supposed to be in class. Skipping school was becoming a regular occurrence for the then-junior, and his grades were suffering.
Jerry Garcia, one of Spokane Public Schools’ RISE mentors, invited Powell into the library and talked to him about why he wasn’t in class. That conversation started a relationship and gave Powell a mentor who helped him improve his grades by giving him a reason to go to class.
“I would skip school but knowing that Jerry was at school, I would go,” Powell said.
Now, SPS mentors like Garcia provide Powell a listening ear when he needs one.
“If I ever need to talk, I can talk to (a mentor) without being judged,” he said. “And no matter how bad my grades are, I can also get help without being judged.”
SPS has two key mentorship programs for high school students:
- Restorative Interventions for Suspensions and Expulsions (RISE)
- Encouraging Positive Intentional Connections (EPIC)
RISE provides mentorship and restorative interventions, while EPIC connects volunteer mentors with students to develop positive relationships.
Laura Alvarado was a RISE mentor who recently became a family engagement specialist within SPS. As a mentor, she worked with students on their schoolwork and behavior, but also provided service recommendations for outside of school.
“Part of helping them and giving them support is hooking them up to resources in Spokane, helping them to make appointments for themselves and getting that help,” she said.
Alvarado says she would meet with students for however long was necessary. Sometimes that was 10-15 minutes, other times it was more than an hour.
“We work on homework assignments together and they share any new updates, anything they’ve been going through in their life,” Alvarado said. “Usually, they open up pretty easily once we’ve built that relationship and got to know each other after a few visits.”
Alvarado even started a RISE Club at Lewis & Clark High School for students to talk about things like healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, mental health issues and more.
“Part of it is I can relate to them a lot when they’re telling me, ‘I am having a really hard time asking for help,” Alvarado said. “Then a few weeks later after some meetings and some conversations, they realize, ‘Oh, this wasn’t so hard. There are people at this school who support me.’”
Powell has seen that support from his mentors ever since Garcia stopped him outside the Shadle library. He’s proud of how much he’s improved – especially his behavior.
“I had lunch detention a lot and in school suspension and it’s gone away completely,” he said.
That’s had a trickle-down effect on his overall school performance. Powell says he feels more comfortable talking to his teachers thanks to the encouragement from his mentors. He’s now focusing on his dreams after he graduates this spring, which could include serving others through the Certified Nursing Assistant Training Program at Sacred Heart Hospital or pursing a two- or four-year college program. Powell also has a passion for graphic design and attends NEWTech Prep in the afternoons to express his creativity.
“Jordan has a wonderful heart for service,” said Rebekah Lawson, the diversion liaison for the RISE program. “He is incredibly compassionate, and incredibly funny. He has a lot of life experience already, and he’s incredibly talented as an artist and graphic designer. He’s got a lot of interests that are really pulling him, and he can really go wherever, however he wants. It’s going to be exciting to see where he goes.”
“And Rebekah’s helping me figure it out,” Powell adds.
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