By Matt Hoover
USD 475 Communications Coordinator
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. - Every Friday morning at Junction City Middle School after the first bell rings, the sixth-grade pods transform. Instead of the usual shuffling of students settling into the day, the hallways fill with voices, shared laughter and pairs of students working together during advisory.
“I have always wanted to create a peer mentoring program, so last year Lauren Davis and I talked about using our eighth graders in our leadership team to mentor sixth graders that need some extra support and maybe even more of a connection to school. We identified the students that we thought it would help and then it took off,” said Chez McClellan, JCMS sixth grade counselor.This is the second year of JCMS’s peer mentoring program, a project long imagined and finally brought to life during the 2024-25 school year.
It started when Davis and McClellan looked at their eighth-grade leadership team and saw something more than a group of responsible students, they saw the potential of young leaders who could make a real impact on students who needed a little extra support and a stronger connection to school.The results were immediate. And powerful.“I recently talked to a lot of the students who were involved last year, and they all loved the program. What we’ve found out is that both groups gained knowledge, growth and benefits from being involved. Because of the impact it had, we decided to continue with the program this year at the middle school,” said McClellan.
As you can see both the mentors and mentees gained something. The eighth-grade leaders learned the kind of skills that don’t come from a textbook like how to encourage someone or how to adapt when one approach doesn’t work. They also learned how to listen with empathy, and how they could help another student reach their goals by growing in their interpersonal skills. They discovered new ways to motivate and a new confidence in their own abilities.
The sixth graders meanwhile gained habits and skills that ultimately have helped set them up for success, daily, at Junction City Middle School as now seventh graders like organization, study routines and time management.More importantly they gained what so many middle-schoolers quietly hope for, which is someone in their corner. Someone older who cares about them, checks in on them, believes in them and cheers for their progress.
This school year the mentorship program has grown. Between 15 and 20 leadership students participate weekly with each paired with a sixth-grade student. The changes are noticeable. According to McClellan and Davis, teachers hear and now see sixth graders waiting eagerly for that connection that has become a steady and positive presence in their school lives.The mentors are changing too. Their empathy is growing, their interpersonal skills strengthening, and their decision-making becoming more thoughtful. They’re learning to advocate not only for themselves, but for others.
For the Wildcats the peer mentoring program has become more than an advisory activity. It’s a resource and another way to help students feel supported, connected and invested in JCMS and the community. It has sparked moments of kindness, students stepping up for one another and positive interactions that have spread beyond advisory time.