Kids Hope is a national mentoring program. The model is simple: a church and a local public school form a partnership. Mentors in the program commit to meet with one child, the same child, one hour weekly for at least one academic school year. In most cases these relationships begin in first and continue through fifth grade. Mentors focus on attitude, behavior and academic progress.El Sol Elementary, the KPS dual language school, has been St. Luke’s partner school since 2009. In the first seven years, seven of our mentees have been honored at a school board meeting as TURN AROUND STUDENTS, children exhibiting significant improvement in behavior and/or academics.Patti Huiskamp serves as the program Director, acting as a bridge between the school and the volunteers. She is also responsible for training and supporting mentor/mentee pairs throughout the year.

Despite the fact that we average around 20 mentor pairs, the demand from the school is always greater than the number of mentors provided. Anyone who could give an hour weekly, October through May, would be welcome to this rewarding ministry.