A Service of The Arrow           Friday December 17, 1999 7:52 PM

ARROW STAFF

Adults. Maybe you can live with `em — but sometimes you just can't live without `em, either.

At least that's the thinking behind FHS's fledgling community mentor program. The program hopes to link up 200 to 300 FHS students with adults in the Kalispell business community.

Whether it's an application for a job, scholarship, or college entry, no doubt there will be a section for adult references — usually more than one, and parents aren't allowed. For almost half of all teenagers, this presents a problem.

A study conducted by Lutheran Brotherhood in 1998 of 47,000 students in grades 6-12 reported only 49 percent of high school students have an adult resource besides their parents.

This statistic, along with last year's dropout rate, prompted the initiation of a community mentor program. FHS Counselor Cyndee Crittenden, FHS teacher Jo Shay, and school-to-work coordinator Dan Fay have led the program into its inaugural year.

“We tend to isolate people,” says Shay. “The kids go to school, the adults go to work, and the old folks go to the old folks' home.”

To make a connection within the community, the program works by pairing students with businesspeople from the community. Matches are made from either career interests, recreational interests, or a combination of the two.

“The program is twofold,” says Crittenden. “One, they (students) have additional support from an adult other than a parent. Secondly, we match students off goals, interests or even skills.”

The mentor program spans a wide range of students in grades 10-12, keeping in mind that the goal is to replace a missing link of adult resources.

“You could be a zero point one GPA to a 4.0 or A-plus student,” said Crittenden. “It's for all students.”

Currently there are around 75 to 80 pairs of students and community mentors, and the numbers are growing. Each Friday Crittenden lines up 10 new student/mentor pairs. After going through a short informational meeting to educate the mentors on the objectives of the program and their role, the pair has the opportunity to get acquainted with each other and often make plans for their next meeting. The end goal is to give the student a friend and resource to listen to problems, encourage healthy life choices, and represent the opportunities available with a high school diploma.

“It's a pretty good idea,” said senior Dan Haller. “They'll be supervisors, yet they can still be cool with us.”

“You get to meet people out in the community that you wouldn't normally get the chance to meet or hang around with,” said sophomore Jeff Harper, whose mentor is Bob Lawson, a state senator.

Besides the opportunity to find an adult with common interests, students learn a little about the world of work — everything from what skills are needed for a particular job to the salary, dress code and consequences for being late.

Senior Tyson Nimmick has been able to get an internship at Max Baucus' Kalispell office with the help of his mentor, Rebecca Manna.

“It gives you a totally new aspect,” said Nimmick of his internship. “You actually have a part of what's going on at the capital and that's a cool feeling.”

The mentor program is still in the early stages and many of the pairs haven't had an opportunity to meet more than once, but there is a lot of potential for growth.

“None of us can do big things (alone),” said Shay, “but if all of us plant a seed, there will be a great harvest.”

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