A program to provide mentors at Robert Lewis Middle School is paying off.

The Rev. David Tarver, one of the Natchez Ministerial Alliance mentors working closely with the program, said he sees clear evidence of the program’s success.

“The atmosphere has changed at the school,” Tarver said. “Our presence has brought a positive attitude.”

For their efforts, mentors and the RLMS program will receive a state award on March 26 at the Partners in Education State Seminar and Fifth Annual Governor’s Awards for Outstanding School/Community Partnerships.

“This is not only great for the mentors but really great PR for Robert Lewis Middle School and all the schools,” Tarver said. “We know we can do it. This shows not only that change is attainable there, but at all our schools.”

Ministers meet with students before school each Monday to pray at the flagpole outside the school. From there, mentors accompany students to their classrooms.

Mentoring goes on at different levels, Tarver said. “For some ministers, it is a ministry of presence — just being there for the students.”

For Tarver and some others, including Gordonna Nelson, the experience has deepened to one-on-one mentoring with students.

Nelson works with three students daily to provide opportunities for them to have after-school study resources at the public library or the Copiah-Lincoln Community College library.

“We work a good hour every afternoon,” Nelson said. “We work hard and then we go for something to eat.”

Tarver has taken seven students under his wing, working with each individually and visiting their homes, also.

“I meet their families and try to figure out what I might do to help their moms,” he said.

Mentors visit the middle school daily. “We try to give the kids a sense of belonging,” Tarver said. “We reach out to them and let them know we love them and that we want to help them in any way we can.”

Still, some students resist the ministers’ efforts, he said. “Not every story is a success story. Not every one is ready to connect with us. But I can say that lives are being changed out there.”