P.A.W.S. Peer Assisted Wolverine Success
The Westwood Middle School Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance program has a peer mentoring program. This program allows middle school students the chance to build a one-to-one supportive relationship with an older student. At this time we have nearly seventy volunteering 8th grade mentor students that have been trained to work with 6th grade students. The major areas they work on are:
- Academic achievement - improving skills, grades, and responsibility
- Social Skills - encouraging honesty, commitment, decision making, and problem solving
- Behavior - developing poistive attitudes and helping change negative behavior patterns
- Personal attributes - developing self-esteem, self-respect, and the ability to set personal goals
Mentoring programs have been proven beneficial to mentees in many ways as reported by the National Dropout Prevention Center. The advantages of such programs include students' improving self-esteem, earning higher grades in school, encountering fewer behavior difficulties, and improving the ability to set and achieve goals. The key to building a successful program and relationship encompasses regular, consistent contact between the mentor and mentee on a personal level.
We believe that all children have the potential to succeed in life and contribute to society. We understand that not all children receive the support or possess the assets they need to thrive. The mentoring experience provides these students the opportunity to find support along with friendship development, reinforcing positive behavior, and a constructive example to emulate.