Student council proposes peer‑to‑peer mentoring program to support students with special needs

Belle Schustrom, executive board president for the Jamestown High School student council, told the school board the student council has drafted a plan to pair volunteer student mentors with students in special education to promote inclusion and reduce social isolation.

"The peer to peer support program at Jamestown High School would be designed to promote inclusion, friendship, and mutual understanding between students with special needs and their general education peers," Schustrom said, describing mentor recruitment through student council, teacher recommendations and volunteer signups and saying participation would be tracked under a staff advisor.

Schustrom noted the program description already appears in the district course offering booklet and said student leaders and seven volunteers are prepared to help launch the effort. She said the program could begin with noncredit or pilot activities this year and evolve into a course next year if there is sufficient enrollment and a staff member to supervise it.

Board members asked how quickly the program could start and whether it would require hiring new staff. Aaron said it appeared to be low overhead and asked for Schustrom's written proposal. "I'd be interested in seeing the proposal if you could send it to us," Aaron said; the chair asked that the proposal be shared with Superintendent Dr. Luck to distribute to the board.

Melissa asked whether supervising staff would need special training; Schustrom said she would look into that and emphasized the student council's willingness to help get the program running. Dan asked whether a noncredit option could move faster; Schustrom and board members said a noncredit pilot was a viable path to start sooner.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: Schustrom will provide the written proposal electronically or in hard copy, the superintendent's office will distribute it to board members, and board members indicated support for exploring a pilot or noncredit option before creating a for‑credit course.

The board did not take formal action on the proposal at the meeting; members asked staff to gather details on staffing, training needs and enrollment thresholds to determine feasibility.