This story is part of our latest super issue about civic engagement and why it’s important to be part of your community. Click here for our full guide to getting involved.
Third grader Korbin spends every Thursday at lunchtime with his “big brother” Ryan Tomlinson.
Korbin is a student at Newport Intermediate School, but he has been paired with Tomlinson through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program since he was in Newport Primary School. The program is just one way that folks in the region can get more involved in local education.
“I definitely like being involved with the youth and helping them through what could be very good times in their lives and very tough times as well,” Tomlinson said.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is in five Northern Kentucky schools, the three Newport Schools and Howell Elementary and Lindeman Elementary in the Erlanger-Elsmere School District. The program’s history with Newport Schools goes back to roughly the mid-90s.
Vice President of Program Operations Julie Knutson said the main goal is to have another caring and consistent adult in a child’s life.
“A lot of the kids in our programs have a lot of difficulties at home, and parents who are working multiple jobs, they might not necessarily be able to provide them with a lot of attention,” Knutson said. “Just somebody who’s able to give them some one-on-one attention and make them feel like they matter.”
Tomlinson found out about the program through his wife, who was already involved. He said Big Brothers Big Sisters does a good job of ensuring that the big and little have common interests to ensure that the match succeeds.
Knutson said the program interviews the volunteer and the child to learn their preferences and interests, and then they decide who best matches them.
“I like how we get to spend time with each other and play, and I actually have someone to do stuff with,” Korbin said.
Tomlinson said that every week during Korbin’s lunchtime, they meet in their dedicated room, which is filled with board games, a giant Connect Four and bean bag chairs.
“We talk about school, we talk about the holidays, we talk about our families, and we just like to goof around,” Tomlinson said.
Newport Intermediate Principal Jennifer Michael said the activities in the room help stimulate conversation between the pairs because they create a relaxed environment and make them feel comfortable.
“It makes the kids comfortable to talk about whatever is bothering them, whether it’s home or here or other kids,” Michael said.
She said the school wants to build better partnerships with the community and bring members of the community in to support what’s going on in the schools for the kids.
“I think that it’s critical for kids to have a connection and see the possibilities outside of the three miles that we service and that the kids pretty much stick to,” Michael said. “Many of them don’t go out of these three miles. Bringing people in that have different perspectives and views is critical for our kids to see the world.”
Korbin said he would recommend the program to other kids.
“If they’re going through hard times, they have someone to talk to and express their emotions,” he said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters recently expanded to Newport High School, meaning Korbin and Thomlinson could be paired together up until Korbin graduates from high school.
To learn more about being a big brother or big sister visit bigsforkids.org.
Aside from Big Brothers Big Sisters, Michael said Newport Schools is always looking for volunteers.
She said people can come in and read with students and practice multiplication or sight words.
“Just taking an hour of their day or once a week or something, just to come to spend some time with some kids, is, I think, critical,” Michael said.
Newport Intermediate School also hosts Positive Behavior Interventions and Support days once a month. Those students earn “Cats Cash” and no behavior referrals they get to do an activity. The kids get to do things like go to the pumpkin patch and do holiday baking. Michael said those activities take a lot of manpower.
“They can come in and help with the kids and talk to them, they love new people, they love new people to talk to,” she said. “Just being another person is sometimes the most beneficial way, and it gives you a different lens on education when you’re really in the school buildings and seeing the different factors that schools are facing in today’s world.”
Adopt A Class is another regional organization that serves Northern Kentucky schools and can offer the community a way to get involved.
The program partners with corporate, government, nonprofit and civic groups across the region to form teams of five to eight individuals from their employment or their neighborhood to come together for one hour once a month as a mentor team to one classroom throughout the school year. The program is for kindergarten through eighth grade.
Adopt A Class helps students understand career pathways that may interest them before they enter high school. The program is in the Ludlow, Covington, Newport, Bellevue, and Boone County school districts.
Once a team commits to the program, Adopt A Class meets with them for a one-hour training session. They help the team design what they want to represent about their industry or career. A staff member is assigned to every team for support along the way, including monthly activities, a field trip to the place of employment, and anything else that might come up.
“For students, over the course of the program, they are mentored by over 70 mentors,” said Adopt A Class CEO Sonya Fultz. “Over a nine-year pathway through the program, they see nine different industries and understand nine different mentor teams’ perspectives on what careers are possible. They also explore each of the pathways to get there.”
Fultz said their goal is to break down any barriers so students can see themselves in higher education spaces or certain career paths and say, “This is for me.”
She said the program also helps teachers because they are asked to teach students about post-high school career pathways, and yet they weren’t trained to understand every career path.
The teachers also build a relationship with their mentor team, because that mentor team stays with the teacher year after year.
“So many teachers, you go in your classroom, you teach, close your door, and it’s you and your students,” Fultz said. “Now, teachers feel very connected to people who come consistently, year over year, and say, ‘We want to be a part of the learning that happens in your classroom.’”
The University of Cincinnati just finished a research study on Adopt A Class, which examined the program’s impact on the employer and the individual mentor. One statistic that stood out to Fultz was that 70% of mentors said the program increased their overall job satisfaction.
Anyone interested in becoming a mentor for Adopt A Class can go to aacmentors.org.
