Joint Champaign, Urbana school program hits 30-year anniversary [Video]

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – The Champaign and Urbana School Districts are celebrating the 30-year anniversary of its One-to-One mentor program.

Since 1994, the One-to-One program has been developed to build self-confidence and encourage students in school, for extracurriculars and in everyday life.

“We ask our mentors to start with a student in third to seventh grade,” said Community Outreach Coordinator Lauren Smith.

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Mentors are asked to stick by them until high school graduation, but Smith said most continue the connection later in life.

“Some of the students keep in touch with their mentors into their thirties,” Smith said. “Think we’ve got a few, maybe early forties now.”

For the last three decades, students have been meeting with mentors for an hour once a week during their lunch break. Students who stay in the program for at least three …