Megan Froome, a Jackson County Public Schools staff member and council member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina, described the local mentoring program’s activity and asked the board to accept the update as information.

Megan said about 21 "paired littles" currently attend Jackson County schools and 31 children remain on the waiting list. She said the program includes a high-school-big model — trained high school students mentor elementary students — and reported 11 high-school-to-elementary pairings in the district.

Megan described screening and supervision practices: potential adult volunteers and high-school participants are screened and interviewed, schools identify liaisons (an administrator or student-support staff member) to monitor in-school meetings, and Big Brothers Big Sisters staff conduct monthly check-ins. She said when mentoring occurs during the school day, meetings happen in public spaces such as media centers and never in private rooms.

Megan encouraged community members interested in volunteering to contact her and noted the program is free to students and schools. She named Danielle Hernandez as the regional program director who works locally and maintains regular oversight of area matches.

Ending: The board received the report as an informational item; no vote was required.