Jim Meikrantz and Pedro Fuentes don’t have much in common at first glance: Fuentes is a senior in high school, Meikrantz is a retiree; Fuentes loves cars and wants to be an automotive technician, Meikrantz is “not a car guy.”
Yet, the two are fostering a fast friendship. They are both self-proclaimed men of few words, both enjoy nature and both are part of Mentor Tutor Connection, a local nonprofit organization that matches adult volunteer mentors with high school students who are experiencing struggles or stress.
The mentors are simply adults whom the students can count on; Fuentes and Meikrantz meet once a week to check in and spend time with one another. Sometimes, this means stopping at coffee shops or grabbing a bite to eat. Other times, they go on nature walks.
Another commonality between Meikrantz and Pedro is that neither had parents who attended college. Fuentes said he looks to Meikrantz as a source of help in applying to schools. He described Meikrantz as “a friend that knows a little bit more than I do.”
Meikrantz agreed, noting that he is unique in that he is simply an adult in Fuentes’ life who cares about him. “Our relationship is such that he and I are friends and I’m part of his network and I’m a resource for him,” he said.
Mentor Tutor Connection provides mentoring services to all three high schools in the Mountain View-Los Altos School District. According to the program’s annual report, during the 2016-17 school year, all 20 of the mentored seniors graduated; in fact, Mentor Tutor has a four-year cumulative graduation rate of 99 percent.
The program is also active in four local middle schools — Egan, Blach, Graham and Crittenden — and 14 elementary schools throughout the South Bay. Volunteers in these schools provide tutoring services for students experiencing academic difficulty. According to the annual report, 83 tutors served 335 middle school students last year.
Recently, Mentor Tutor Connections hired a middle school coordinator to work with administration and staff at each of the middle schools and better serve the students in need.
“Our budget for this year is $190,000 and we depend on the support of individual donors, family foundations and Holiday Funds, like the Mountain View Voice’s, to enable us to provide assistance for students within the Mountain View Whisman and Los Altos school districts,” said MTC’s programs chair, Linda Eckols.
Mentor Tutor Connections also faces a shortage of male mentors each year, which means many struggling male students are left without an adult to help them. So how did Meikrantz find out about the program?
“You know, I think I read about it in the paper,” he said.
To find out more about Mentor Tutor Connection and its programs, go to mentortutorconnection.org.
Email Anna Krause at akrause@mv-voice.com
