By Steve Mayer
On Friday, Oct. 17, like many schools across the country, Robbinsville High School hosted its annual Pink-out in support of breast cancer awareness.
Under the lights on a crisp fall evening, the football game served as an example of how good mentoring pays huge dividends for our community. The stadium was filled to capacity. Football and band fans alike sported pink to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. In front of the home stands, the track was filled with cheerleaders of all ages. Joining the varsity and junior varsity high school squads were Junior Raven cheerleaders, some as young as five years old, decked out in pink and mimicking the moves and cheers of the older girls.
From my seat in the stands, I saw younger girls look up in wonder at their older counterparts. I watched, mindful of the power of older, wiser mentors and realized the importance they play in our lives.
One of our core values in Robbinsville Schools seeks to leverage the excellence and experience attained by older students to mentor and provide role modeling for younger students. We strive to apply this principle consistently, whether through the Youth-Teach-Youth program at Sharon, the presence of third grade hall monitors, mystery readers, cheerleaders, tutors or Teen PEP leaders at the high school. Having excellent role models as good examples for younger students is a vital component to our success as a school district.
When freshman see the stars representing college acceptances begin to appear on the walls outside of the guidance office, they understand the importance of keeping up with school work. Similarly, when eighth grade Pond Road PALS model good citizenship and friendship for incoming fourth grade students, a powerful and important human exchange takes place. Fourth graders learn that eighth graders are friendly, smart and engaging. This helps to ease the transition to a large school setting where being known becomes very important.
Teen PEP leverages the power of outstanding seniors as role models to help freshman understand that many students make healthy choices to avoid risky sexual behavior. The senior leaders help freshmen to understand that they are not alone in their choice to abstain and are supported in choosing a pathway leading to healthy relational decisions. Similar to social norms data that dispels the notion that “everyone is doing it,” having older friends and leaders model good choices is a powerful tool for promoting healthy behavior.
In Robbinsville, we believe in the power of setting a good example for those around us. The responsibility to model good citizenship for others extends to each member of the school community. We understand that younger students always look up to their older, more experienced counterparts, and we will leverage the power of this mentor relationship to ensure the kind of culture we can believe in together as a community.
Back to the Pink-out. As I watched the youngest cheerleaders mimic the behavior of the high school team, I was reminded of how important mentoring can be in a community like ours. I will continue to cheer for excellent role models of all ages to serve as mentors and good examples in Robbinsville.
Steve Mayer is superintendent of Robbinsville Schools.
