JTHS recently held a press conference to announce a new venture availble to promote student success.

The Mentor2.0 program, sponsored by Big Brothers Big Sisters has recently been announced to align with Joliet Township High School District 204.

“Mentor2.0 is a game changer, ” says Big Brothers Big Sisters of American CEO, Charles Pierson.

The Will and Grundy County chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters is just one of twelve chapters chosen to partake in this program for the 2014-2015 school year.

The program will be offered to 50 sophomore students from Joliet West and another 50 sophomore students from Joliet Central during its pilot year. Students will be chosen at random. These 50 students will be given a mentor who will stay with them through their freshman year in college. Some may even stay in contact years after. Students are put with specific mentors based on their interests, academies, and more. Each year, the program hopes to keep adding more students.

The Mentor2.0 program is planned by the student’s career choice. It helps with financial aid, academic preparation, college knowledge, overall college readiness, and they are there when students need help or advice. When matched up, the student and mentor will then begin to form a relationship, and dedication to one another.

The mentor and the student will meet every four to six weeks in person. Each week, the student will be given a prompt e-mail to respond to based on all types of problems that there could be. Technology makes it easier to communicate to one another more often. The students will also get together and discuss in a group many different topics.

This is a great accomplishment because students in our community can gain more structure and college readiness they may not have had before.

Being that the current graduation rate at Joliet West is 84.4%, the anticipated goal from the program is that students that participate will be more likely to graduate and stay in college. Thus increasing the graduation rate.

Dr. Cheryl McCarthy states, “The way it works is no one will be forced into the programs. There would definitely need to be permission from the student and their families.”

For the 2015-16 school year, it is expected  that more students will be given the opportunity to participate in the Mentor2.0 program. With the assistance of the Mentor 2.0 program, it will hopefully help more students graduate from high school and pursue a college education.