Pflugerville High School to begin mentorship program

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas - Zack Klypas created a mentor program for at-risk students during his tenure as principal at Park Crest Middle School. Now that he's become the principal of Pflugerville High School, he wants to bring the project to even more students.

The program matches students with mentors within the Pflugerville community and more than 50 students at Park Crest Middle School were matched with a mentor in just the second year of the program. 

Pflugerville ISD (PfISD) says that more students have continued to come forward after seeing their peers improve in the classroom and beyond. 

"I believe all students want to do well at school. However, sometimes their situations both inside and outside of school can make that a constant challenge," Kleypas said. "The key to helping students through those challenges is having a loving adult who shows up to listen, care and believe in them. Although our teachers and staff are doing that each and every day, for some students, it resonates more coming from someone outside of education. That is where the mentors come in."

The program called Project JAMII, a Swahili word pronounced "jah-MEE-a" that means "community" or "family", came into being thanks to the hard work of parent liaison Dr. Luther Bake, who has also transitioned from Park Crest to PHS in order to lead the Project JAMII, says the district.

JAMII will be seen as a resource of remedy to issues and shortfalls of PHS students, according to PfISD. Research has shown mentoring to be particularly effective for students of color who face environmental risk factors such as poverty. 

Students who qualify as a mentee must meet one of the 12 at-risk indicators. The district says the most common factors impacting students at PHS are: students who struggle academically, have trouble connecting with peers or adults, have difficulties meeting campus expectations, have challenging home lives or past experiences, or simply students who may benefit from another adult role model checking in on them to set goals, and ensure they feel visible and valuable. 

The program was initially created for middle school aged students, but both Baker and Kleypas believe it can positively impact high schoolers, says the district.

"Mentoring this age group holds unrealized potential in serving PHS students. Mentors will be uniquely positioned to help our students navigate through the process transitioning from high school to postsecondary education, work or career training that the JAMII Mentors have done well," Baker said. 

The first meeting for Project JAMII at PHS was held before Thanksgiving break to give mentors the opportunity to learn about the program and their expectations to help their at-risk mentees. 

When the students return in January, the pairing of mentors and mentee will be officially begin, says the district There is still a need for more mentors as Kleypas and Baker anticipate growth of the program like before. 

If you are interested in serving as a mentor to an at-risk student at Pflugerville High School, contact Luther.Baker@pfisd.net.

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