At Brookwood, mentorship is part of the culture
At Brookwood there are multiple programs that allow students the opportunity to be a mentor- or find one.
Community is a tradition that defines Brookwood School. Spend any amount of time on campus, and you’ll soon see it for yourself: students and teachers across all divisions — adults, teens and children alike — wave and call one another by name.
But that’s only the beginning.
Multiple programs are in place to ensure that mentorship is and always will be a part of the ethos of the school. Activities and events run the gamut to ensure that everyone stands to benefit — from the youngest students in the Lower School to graduating seniors, their teachers and their coaches.
Middle School Director Sam Caudill said that’s one of the great advantages of a junior-kindergarten through 12th grade independent school on one campus.
“It does give opportunities for division to work across lines, and I really think this creates a nice bond with kids, with faculty and with families,” he said.
Middle School advisories
This school year, Brookwood School Counselor Allison Harrell instituted an advisory program in the Middle School, designed to bolster the relationships between faculty and students outside of the context of the classroom.
Each advisor serves as an advocate for a small group of students. He or she helps each child to negotiate their needs as they relate to their parents, teachers and other peers.
The goals of the program are threefold, Harrell said.
“First, it helps students develop meaningful connections with their peers and their advisor,” she said.
Second, as they build relationships, students will have the opportunity to convey these skills throughout the Middle School, Brookwood and into the local community And third, “Students have opportunities to develop and practice leadership skills in and out of advisory,” she said.
Advisors are Middle School teachers and coaches, whose “charge is to get to know the student, to listen and to care,” Harrell said.
Caudill said the program has been hugely successful.
“(Teachers are) the best mentors that I think a student can have because they can work with them on grades; they can work with them on social issues,” he said.
Girl Talk
Girl Talk is a peer-to-peer mentoring program, where Upper School girls guide Middle School girls, helping them cope with the issues they face during their early teenage years.
The mission is to help girls build self-esteem, develop leadership skills and recognize the value of community service, Harrell said.
“The younger girls develop confidence, leadership skills and compassion,” she said.
The Brookwood chapter of Girl Talk is named “What Makes You Beautiful.”
“We believe that the lessons learned in Girl Talk contribute to girls becoming more confident, service- minded women with better relationships — and this is what makes them beautiful,” Harrell said.
Reading buddies
What began as an experiment has turned into a regular program that third graders and Upper School psychology students await with excitement: The older students serve as reading buddies to the younger students, and Mavis, the school’s therapy dog, comes along to help. Carolyn Nicholson, Brookwood’s psychology teacher, said the program began three years ago when she and her students began to research the positive impact of therapy dogs in the classroom. When her class first teamed up withthe third grade, “We sat in little groups and had the kids read to the Upper Schoolers,” she said. “The older students got to see psychology at work,” helping the younger children to develop confidence and proficiency in reading. Reading skills aside, what resulted was a connection between the students that she hadn’t anticipated.
“There’s a relationship that comes really quickly,” Nicholson said. “That smile on that child’s face is a bigger deal to me than the numbers. They’re so excited about getting together,” she said. Today the program continues, and the students jump at every chance to get together with their reading buddies. The third graders always invite the Upper School students to their class play at the end of the school year. “They always save a front-rowseat for my kids,” Nicholson said. “It means a lot to them.” Those programs are just a few of many Other longtime Brookwood traditions are the Senior Buddy program, which allows 12th graders to pair up with first graders, and the all-school musical, where thespians of all ages come together annually to rehearse and perform.
There’s always a chance to be a mentor — or to find one. “It’s really about building connections and friendships,” Caudill said. “That’s what so important.”
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.