Please Support CY Mentoring Program
Letter from Carol Conard

January is National Mentoring Month, and each year at this time we in the CY Mentoring Program at CCS take the opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank-you to our caring, generous cadre of mentors. These eighteen volunteers are community members and faculty/staff members at CCS who give an hour a week throughout the school year, and offer their friendship, guidance and unconditional support to a student in the Middle Level who needs some extra personal attention. The kids in the program look forward to mentoring all week long, and for many of them it’s the highlight of their school week. And no surprise, but the mentors love it too!
The CY Mentoring Program is a gem, and unique in all of Vermont. Nowhere else can you find the kind of faculty and community support that we have worked hard to build over the last 6 years, or retention rates among mentees and mentors alike of over 90% (as compared to a national average of 25-50%).
Unfortunately, this fantastic program is on the list of budget cuts being considered by the School Board. If we lose it, we will lose the trust, continuity, and momentum that has taken years to establish. Also, we will break the promise we made to the kids in the program, of a long-lasting mentoring relationship.
Please voice your support of the CY Mentoring Program to the School Board before the final budget vote on January 19. Thank you, Charlotte, and thank you Mentors!
Carol Conard
CY Mentoring Coordinator