BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- They shuffled in and slid into their assigned seats, some flashing blue nail polish and multiple earrings, others scoping out who was sitting next to them.
They are first-year students, but already they seem to know something is different, really different, about this class.
So different that they are quickly handed a questionnaire by high school teacher Terri Harris asking, "During my free time, I like to . . .," "I wish I was better at . . ." and "My special friends are . . ."
After filling that out, they have a harried seven minutes to do a "person search," in which they must find classmates who fit in such categories as who's read a book over the summer; who knows the school fight song; and who can count in a foreign language. The last set off one boy to rattle off one to 10 in Spanish.
Welcome to the TEAM.
Wednesday was the first day students sat down to get to know their "teammates" and advisers in a new program called Teachers as Educational Advisors and Mentors at Lebanon High School.
"That teacher will get to know that student, for the primary purpose of knowing them so they don't get lost in the shuffle," Principal Sam Ison said.
All high school students are participating. They are split into groups of 14 to 22 students with their mentors, called "coaches," with whom they'll meet weekly for 40 minutes for the next four years.
"Our ideas here are that every student will get more attention than what a counselor can do, and we're hoping it will involve students, teachers and parents," said Louise Hayes, the school's senior counselor. "We're hoping that teacher-advisers will have more contact with parents and in a sense, more contact with the community as well."
The district participated in a seminar on mentoring programs last summer and launched it this fall. Other districts with similar mentoring programs are Franklin, Kings, Lebanon, Little Miami, Williamsburg, Clermont Northeastern and Mason, Mrs. Hayes said.
"Coaches" at Lebanon High will strive to foster trust and communication with students and their parents, and monitor students' academic progress with the help of "game plans," she said.
"(It's) needed because there are not enough counselors to provide each student and the parents with individual guidance," Mrs. Hayes said. "Our primary goal is communication and to have a mentor, an advocate, so that no student will go through our school without someone giving them some special attention."
The program won't replace the need for counselors, but it may become an extension of that office because it gives teachers a closer look at what students are struggling with, Mrs. Hayes said.
"The student may have personal needs that the counselor may never know about," she said. "Advisers are going to know students, know what the students are going to need help in. I would think it would bring more attention to the students' problems."
Coaches and "team leaders," who helped organize the program, also plan to help students develop career goals, Mrs. Hayes said. Administrators will become involved and substitute as needed.
"We consider it a total school involvement," she said. "It's not just one person's responsibility, it is all of ours."
