(WSBT) The South Bend School Corporation is putting out the call for help, and they say they want you.

The school system is launching a major push to sign up mentors for elementary students. And they hope it will cut down on dropouts and improve success in class.

They want as many as 6,000 mentors to meet with a student at school, one hour a week.

One man who believes the effort can have an immense impact is Bill Przybysz. He spent a career as a teacher and principal at Adams High School.

“I saw an awful lot of young people that didn’t make it,” Przybysz said. “My feeling was this: we needed people to step up and help.”

Years after originally getting involved, Przybysz now trains other mentors and keeps tabs on the impact they're having.

“[I] would say 95 percent of the kids they're working with and the situations they're working with, it's been highly successful. I've seen kids improve in their attendance, their attitude their academics, and very honestly mentors get as much out of it, if not more, than some of the kids do,” he said.

In fact, coordinators say among the more than 1,000 volunteers that already take part, one is an FBI agent, a fire chief, there are business people, and grandparents.

The schools system welcomes people from all walks of life. “Is it doable? Oh I think it is,” Przybysz said.

There are challenges.

Coordinators say people can be as shy as a kid at a chalkboard about signing up as a mentor.

“There are people who say 'Oh no, [I] wouldn't know what to do or wouldn't know what to say,’ well, once they meet the child, the hook happens,” said Christine Pochert, Supervisor of Student Support Services for South Bend Community School Corporation.

And Przybysz is encouraged by the new campaign and believes the return on the one hour weekly commitment is huge.

“We don't want your money, we want your time. Give us an hour,” he said.

Becoming a mentor involves an hour of training and a background check. It takes place during the school day at the student’s school itself.

The South Bend Tribune is featuring a series called “Together We Change Lives,” about the need for people to serve as mentors for students in the South Bend Community School Corporation. In Tuesday’s story, they’ll answer some frequently asked questions about mentoring, and profile the Senior Men's Club, who took on mentoring as a way to fight violence and poverty.

For more information, click on the links in the Related Content box.

How to help:

• If you're willing to be a mentor, contact Christine Pochert at (574) 283-8044, or send an email to PartnerUp@sbcsc.k12.in.us .
  
• To read to a child, contact Connie Moore at (574) 283-8182.
  
• If your business is interested in either, call (574) 283-8088 and leave a message.