Mentor Canes is a school-based mentoring program. Last year, over 139 students were paired with a mentor.

The Mentor Canes' vision is to improve the lives of our students by fostering a sense of self-esteem, self-confidence, and motivation to make choices that lead toward accomplishing personal goals.

Mentoring can help youth as they go through challenging life transitions, including dealing with stressful changes at home, difficulty at school (academically and behaviorally), and problems with navigating social situations. Close, healthy, supportive relationships between mentors and mentees that last for a significant portion of time (i.e., more than one year) are central to success (Jekielek et al., 2002; Rhodes & DuBois, 2006). Mentoring is one of the easiest and biggest ways to give back to our community. A mentor has the opportunity to truly change the life of a child. Mentors are paired with children in Kindergarten through 12th grade. We ask that you commit to 1 child, for up to 1 hour per week, for 1 school year.

Upon a student entering the program, parents give consent for release of confidential information. By being a mentor, you will be privy to information about your mentee in the areas (if applicable) of academics, discipline, attendance, and relevant social history details. We want communication with you to be consistent and relevant so you have what you need to work with the child and focus on areas of need to make a targeted difference.

You will be provided with an orientation training. We want you to be familiar with the program expectations of you and what you can expect from the program. We’ll discuss rules and regulations for interacting with students, communication needs, and examples of activities that will be available for you to get to know your mentee better, and many other things.

In the interest of safety and security, Cartersville City School System will obtain criminal history information on all volunteers. All Mentor Canes volunteers must complete a criminal history background check each year. 

Step 1: Contact the Mentor Canes Program Coordinator, Tiffany Mize, at 678-535-6229 or by email.

Step 2: Attend the orientation training and complete your mentor application. Mentor Canes Training Manual

Step 3: The Mentor Coordinator at the school will contact you to schedule a face-to-face meeting, assign you a mentee, and schedule your meetings.

Thank you for your interest in Mentor Canes!

“Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story” ~ John Shipp