Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mentoring topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Teammates mentoring program tells Ralston board it has 54 local matches, 24 students waiting
Summary
Representatives from Teammates described program outcomes and local needs: nationally the program reports over 12,000 students served and an average match length of 30 months; locally Ralston has 54 active matches, 13 new matches last year and 24 children on a waiting list, and presenters asked the board to help recruit mentors.
Teammates, a school-based mentoring program founded in 1991, presented to the Ralston Public Schools Board and urged the community to add volunteers to expand local matches. Shauna Mayer, who has coordinated the chapter for more than a decade, said the national program has served over 12,000 students and that long-term matches show the most benefit.
Mayer and other Teammates representatives explained how the program operates in schools: mentors are matched with a single student, background checks and references are required, training is provided online and in person, and matches meet once weekly during school hours. “We ask that mentors commit for three years,” Mayer said, noting Teammates now asks for a longer commitment than in earlier years to avoid harm from short-lived relationships.
Local data highlighted the program’s footprint in Ralston: Marlene Kaplan, president of the local Teammates board, said the chapter currently has 54 active matches and made 13 new matches during the last school year; the chapter also reported eight seniors who were teammates graduated and two $1,000 scholarships donated locally. The group said 24 children remain on the waiting list and requested help recruiting mentors, including retirees and community members.
Mentors and former mentors offered first-person examples. Michelle Morgan, who has mentored multiple students through the program, described long-term outcomes for mentees and urged board members to volunteer: “If you’ve got 30 minutes of your time in a week, go be a mentor. Try it out. It will not just change some kid’s life, it will change yours.”
Presenters said Teammates restrict meetings to school time for safety reasons, conduct national background checks, require references and deliver training to volunteers. They also described the program’s growth—operating in five states—and encouraged board members to share presentation slides the district will circulate.
The board thanked the presenters and asked administrators to distribute the slides and contact information; administrators said they would circulate the materials to trustees. The presentation did not request district funding; it focused on community recruitment and partnership support. The Teammates representatives left trustees with a direct call to action to recruit mentors ahead of the new school year.
