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Local alumni group Men on a Mission offers school-based mentoring, alternatives to discipline
Summary
Men on a Mission, a Monroe alumni-led volunteer group, told the Monroe Public Schools board it will restart mentoring, run breakout life-skills sessions and help reconnect students to school after a drug-related loss inspired local organizers to act.
Men on a Mission, a group of Monroe High alumni, presented to the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education about a proposed mentoring program and community outreach designed to boost attendance, provide life skills and offer alternatives to discipline. "We wanna get into the schools and work with the young people, to help mentor them, to help guide them," Roosevelt Barnes said, explaining the group's goal to pair former athletes and community volunteers with students who need extra support.
Group members said they had begun designing a reproducible program with the district's counseling staff and hoped to pilot breakout sessions that combine 15 minutes of athletics, 15 minutes of life lessons and 15 minutes of open conversation. Ike Smith recounted the program's origins in a family tragedy and said the group's aim is to "catch the students a little earlier" to reduce drug-related harms and chronic absenteeism. Board members asked about logistics and transportation; members of Men on a Mission said they ran a November job and resource fair with 75-80 applicants and that follow-up resulted in some hires, and they asked the district to identify students and points of contact so volunteers can be assigned where they are needed.
