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Mentoring pilot at Dayton schools credited with improved attendance and reading; BBBSNN seeks funds to expand
Summary
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada presented a semester-long pilot at Dayton High and Dayton Elementary that the group and school staff said improved attendance and reading for participating students; the nonprofit seeks local and corporate funding to expand to a full-year program.
Representatives of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada (BBBSNN) presented results from a pilot mentoring program at Dayton High School and Dayton Elementary School that served 8 high-school mentors and 15 elementary students in a semester-long trial.
Derek, CEO of the BBBSNN chapter, said data included attendance improvements for both mentors and mentees and gains in elementary reading scores over the semester. He described a holiday shopping event and a culminating symposium where students presented work and several high-school participants received congressional awards. The pilot was initially funded with Senate appropriation dollars routed through Lyon County Human Services; BBBSNN said some of the funds were deobligated and the nonprofit is self-funding the effort while seeking additional support.
School leaders who participated — including Dayton High Principal Julie Burgner and classroom staff — said the mentorship increased student engagement and attendance because high-school mentors felt responsible for littles who depended on them.
Funding and scale: BBBSNN described a prior Senate appropriations award (reported in the presentation materials) of about $130,000, of which approximately $119,000 was expended; the immediate year budget to sustain and modestly expand the pilot was estimated at about $30,000, and the nonprofit plans to hire a special-programs coordinator to oversee expansion.
Trustees praised the program and asked about student-selection criteria and funding sources; the presenters said student matches are made using national BBBS screening plus school recommendations and that the program will pursue corporate sponsors and targeted appropriations to expand services.
No board action was required on the discussion item.
