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North Penn unveils 10-week mentorship pilot at Penfield Middle; district updates building maps
Summary
District administrators described a 10-week Pathways mentorship pilot at Penfield Middle School emphasizing relationship-building, requiring parental consent and not replacing instruction; staff also reported ongoing professional floor-plan mapping with CRG Mapping for first responders.
The North Penn Safe Schools Committee heard details on a new 10-week mentorship pilot, Pathways, that the district plans to launch at Penfield Middle School and reviewed progress on professional building floor plans.
Mr. Roan described the mentorship program as similar to a Big Brothers Big Sisters model, saying staff wrote a "fabulous, 10 week mentorship program" to help students build relationships, make better decisions and rehearse social and emotional skills. He emphasized the program is voluntary, requires parental consent and is not intended to be punitive: "it's not like, okay. You did this, and now you're going to the mentor program." Sessions will take place during homeroom (referred to in the meeting as "pen time") so students will not miss instructional time.
Committee members praised starting at the middle-school level and asked about selection criteria. Mr. Roan said selection will focus on students who would benefit from extra support — for example, students who are new or struggling academically or socially — and that the program includes "train the mentor" elements so it can expand to other buildings.
Separately, Mr. Roan reported the district uses CRG Mapping to create professional building floor plans for first responders; maps will be completed for remaining buildings and updated when structural changes occur. He said county emergency services and dispatchers will be able to reference the maps during incidents.
A Lansdale resident who spoke during public comment, Jason Lanier, welcomed the mentorship idea and asked whether Evolv weapons-detection systems and Raptor visitor management are complementary; Mr. Roan replied that Evolv (weapons detection) and Raptor (visitor management) serve different roles and are not integrated.
The committee did not vote on the mentorship pilot at this meeting; staff will proceed with planning and parent-consent steps toward a fall rollout.
