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Survey underlines shortage of mentors in Delaware 3:36 p.m., Sept. 7, 2006--Nearly 23,000 students in Delaware schools could benefit from having mentors, compared to only 3,635 who already have mentors, according to the 2005-06 Public School and Community Mentoring Survey conducted by the Delaware Mentoring Council (DMC) at the University of Delaware. The study, which covered 78 percent of Delaware schools, found that the number of students who could benefit from a one-on-one relationship with a mentor is 22,857 students, up 35 percent from last year's survey result of 16,922 students, Michelle Knights, who was recently appointed DMC director, said. Knights, who was named distinguished graduate student in UD's Department of Individual and Family Studies in 2005 and 2006, is working toward a doctoral degree in human development and family studies. She has worked with the Infant Caregiver Project in the Department of Psychology and has devoted the past 10 years to improving outcomes for young children. DMC is a coalition of mentor programs, local corporations and businesses, government agencies and organizations committed to providing mentoring to youth in need throughout the state. The council was established by executive order of the governor and is housed within UD's College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy (CHEP). Knights said the findings of the survey help DMC determine what types of support are needed for mentoring programs during the year. DMC also uses the data collected to produce statistics that indicate the growth or decline of mentoring programs in Delaware and to help guide future funding initiatives. At DMC's request, Delaware lawmakers recently appropriated an additional $100,000 for mentoring initiatives in the state, up from the annual $500,000 allotment. The request for additional funding is the first request for an increase since DMC was established in 1998. Knights said the additional funds will be used for a new community mini-grants program for community organizations and other DMC initiatives. The Delaware Department of Education recently awarded $350,000 through DMC to 21 schools for in-school mentoring programs serving academically at-risk students in kindergarten through 12th grade in public schools. Meanwhile, DMC's AmeriCorps VISTA program at UD recently graduated 12 members as the 10th VISTA class and welcomed four new members for a year of service. The new members--Brenna Hassinger from Pennsylvania, Nicole Carlson from South Dakota, Maryann Hon from Missouri, and David Mauldin from Michigan--will promote DMC initiatives and related programs throughout the state. |
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