School’s Mentorship Program Matches Young Teens With Strong Role Models

Students at Hogan Preparatory Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, wanted support with grief, trauma, community service and finances, so the school came up with a great idea to help them.

They started a mentorship program that would help guide these students in the right direction.

The Kingship Mentorship Program connects young boys at the charter school with strong male role models.

Sadly, the school has lost numerous students to gun violence, which has been rough for their classmates to cope with. This program gives the boys a place to grieve and talk about their feelings.

The program currently has more than 35 mentors who are entrepreneurs, military members, pipe fitters, security and more. 30 to 40 students are now taking advantage of this program.

One junior at the school, Brian Wilson, says the mentors in this program are like another father figure outside of home.

One of those father figures is Jalent Gant, who is also a teacher at the school.

“I just try to give them a different perspective because I think that some of the kids only see from here to Troost or here to Paseo,” Gant told Fox 4 KC. “A lot of them became accountable in all the right ways. They were showing up to class on time. They were coming to school more often. They were saying, ‘No ma’am, yes sir.’”

They hope to start a Kingship program at schools across Kansas City and are continuously looking for more mentors to be part of their journey. If you live nearby and would like to be a mentor, please contact Jan Thomas at [email protected].

Learn more in the video below:

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