New mentoring program helps address issues

As the new school year began, the Hewlett-Woodmere community endured a tragedy as Hewlett High School sophomore John Sabu was killed by a Long Island Rail Road train. Students had a very difficult time coping with the death of a peer, so the Pupil Personnel Services PALs program decided to address the issues students are facing by implementing a mentoring program.

PALs are selected to help students transition into high school, by leading orientation programs such as Freshmen Focus and Link Night. PALs can also help new students by giving them tours of the building or helping them navigate the building.

The mentoring program will serve as a pilot for the anticipated larger-scale mentoring program that will ultimately be enacted. The pilot program will pair upperclassmen PALs with underclassmen PALs and have the older PALs serve as mentors for the younger PALs. It is anticipated that the larger-scale mentoring program will be spread throughout the whole school next year.

Long Island Mentoring Training came to Hewlett High to train the new mentors late this month. The mentors learned how they can help their mentees, but also how the mentors can hurt their mentees.

At the beginning everyone split into three groups. One group made a list of the most common stressors within the high school, such as feeling overwhelmed with schoolwork. Another group made a list of solutions and how mentors can help, such as assisting students learn time management skills. The final group made a list of how mentors can hurt their mentees. There are several ways that the mentors could cause harm, such as giving bad advice, passing judgment, not being trustworthy or sharing their mentee’s personal information.

In order to promote the goals of new mentoring program, PPS PALs and teachers wore their blue PALs shirts on Oct. 23 — National Unity Day. The “sea of blue” as it has come to be known at the high school, promotes a sense of awareness that there are both students and staff members who are there to help any students who are struggling.

This year, freshmen were allowed to join the program in the fall, in previous years they were not able to join until the spring of their freshman year. The change allowed more students to become involved in enacting positive change in our school.

None of this could be possible without the help and support of the districtwide PPS chairwoman Mary Harrison. She spent countless hours meeting with students to find out what they thought were the most pressing issues for students. She held emergency meetings with the PPS PALs to come up with a plan for how best to address these issues. And, she is looking forward to the start of this mentoring program. Students who are part of the PPS PALs program are extremely excited to be able to take part in this beneficial program.