North Hills School District, in collaboration with Crisis Center North, launched a new leadership group this year that pairs high school student-athletes with eighth graders to serve as peer mentors.
Through the Coaching Boys into Men program, 11 North Hills juniors, handpicked by their coaches for being positive role models, participated in an eight-week training course last fall.
In January, they began meeting with chosen eighth graders engaging in activities that teach social skills, character building and positive relationship development.
So far they’ve played board games, completed puzzles and held a friendly paper airplane contest!
North Hills student assistance counselors Matthew Paris and Franz Ratnavale oversee the group. They plan for the mentorships to develop over two years, giving the rising freshmen a connection at the high school as they transition from eighth to ninth grade next year.
They also look to expand the program in future years to include female leadership and coed peer mentorship programs.
Coaching Boys into Men is a Futures Without Violence program. Futures Without Violence is a health and social justice nonprofit that aims to heal those who are traumatized by violence today and to create healthy families and communities free of violence tomorrow.