Graduating from middle school is an exciting time and a rite of passage for youth and their families. It signifies years of hard work finally paying off. For some students, excitement can turn into anxiety when the realization sets in that they’ll be a freshman in high school the next school year. This change means a larger building, older kids, more challenging classes, and teachers who might be new faces.
Those feelings aren’t so far away for Freshman Sadie Cobb, who’s reflecting on her transition from Washington Middle School to Johnston City High School and how the Peer Mentor program helped to ease some fears.
“When I was an 8th grader filling up my schedule, I didn’t even know if I was going to see my friends every day,” Cobb reflects. “I was a little bit scared about that. As an 8th grader, you have classes with just your class. As a Freshman, you have classes with everyone.”
Like many freshmen, Cobb quickly realized attending high school wasn’t so scary after learning to navigate the hallways and becoming more familiar with her schedule.
“Sometimes I forget where I’m going,” Cobb explains. “Sometimes I question myself. Am I really going to that class? Is it really that time?”
With her first year of high school almost over, Cobb is thriving. She’s a three-sport athlete competing in cheerleading, volleyball, and track. She’s also considering the high school’s medical path and earning certifications in healthcare.
Some of this success and ease of transition are due to the high school’s Peer Mentor program, now in its second year. Seniors are assigned a freshman classroom and hold lessons once a month on a Tuesday during Tribe Talk. These lessons focus on character education, like leadership, social engagement, and stress management.
Cobb can recall a recent lesson making her more aware that all classmates have different skill sets.
“On this paper, we had to write with our right hand and see who could do that first,” she recalls. “Then we wrote with our left hand to see who could do it. It was just really showing how people are different and they can do stuff better than other people.”
JCHS Social Worker Ashley Gauldoni oversees the program after being selected by the school administration for her ability to build relationships. She also has a successful track record in encouraging responsibility and leadership within our students. Gauldoni believes this program is an asset to freshmen and seniors.
“We want all of our kids to feel like they have a place here at school and that they have people they can look up to,” she says. “It gives our seniors a little bit of ownership and accountability. It also gives our freshmen that feeling when they come here.”
Gauldoni hopes to keep this program thriving and growing. One goal is for the freshman-to-senior ratio to be small, but she needs more seniors to volunteer. Many students who act as mentors are involved in other school-related programs, clubs, or certifications. This can make it difficult for mentors to attend all the lessons if they’re away at a competition or job site.
“We want as many seniors as we can,” Gauldoni adds. “We have exceptional students here at our school. We want to showcase that and show our younger students they do have someone to look up to.”
Current Mentors include:
Cannon Ashmore
Ty Clark
Zoee Cullum
Kylie Dugger
Aidan Eberhardt
Olivia Giron
Cassidy Hermetz
Karleigh McVey
Jordan Norris
Sydney Pietrantoni
Seth Rice
Evan Sanders
Kara Smith
Erin West
Aubree WIlliford
Ty Clark is the President of the school’s Educators Rising group and is involved in multiple clubs, including FFA, Math team, and ACEs. In addition, he plays Golf. Clark shares that a teacher encouraged him to be involved in the Peer Mentor program.
“I’m in the Education courses that the Johnston City High School offers,” Clark explains. “Our teacher, Mr. Shick, instilled into us that we needed to do this.”
After graduation in May, Clark plans to attend SIU or John A. Logan College to pursue becoming a math teacher. One day, he’d like a classroom of his own in the Johnston City School District.
Clark believes leading Peer Mentor lesson plans are valuable as a future educator, but the program benefits all seniors who sign up.
“It gives them practice with public speaking,” he says. “It can allow them to be more open and get them out of their comfort zone, which is good for everyone.”
Cobb still has two years before she’ll have the opportunity to become a part of the Peer Mentor program as a senior. The freshman feels she’ll want to do this after looking up to the mentors in her class. In the more immediate, Cobb does have some advice for the incoming freshman class, who will soon participate in the Peer Mentor program.
“Do not be afraid to ask questions,” she says. “The Senior mentors will 100% answer it the best they can, and will probably have a very good response. I was scared to ask questions the first time, but the next time I just asked questions and it was a lot better.”