• Calendar of Events
• Academic Awards Banquet
• Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute
• Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips
• Schusterman Mentor Program
• Local Education Foundation Outreach
• Teacher Scholarships for Professional Development
• Return to OFE Home

OFE News Release

First Lady Kim Henry Endorses Mentoring Initiative

March 29, 2006
OKLAHOMA CITY -- First Lady Kim Henry is pledging her support to an Oklahoma initiative designed to encourage the growth and development of school-based mentoring programs around the state.

Henry announced today that she will endorse the new David and Molly Boren Mentoring Initiative, which is a program of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Henry is a trustee of the non-profit organization, which was founded 20 years ago by then-U.S. Sen. David L. Boren to recognize and encourage academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools.

“Children who have a consistent, caring adult role model in their life are more likely to succeed in school, to have healthy relationships with others and to be self-confident,” Henry said. “I support the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence in its efforts to promote and expand mentoring programs to benefit the children of our state; and I encourage Oklahoma citizens to make a difference for a child in their community by becoming a volunteer mentor.”

Through her endorsement, Henry will be featured in the new mentoring section of the Foundation for Excellence Web site at www.ofe.org/mentoring. She will also promote National Mentoring Month and encourage community leaders to work with school districts in establishing mentoring programs that follow quality program standards.

The mentoring initiative, named in honor of Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence founder and chairman David Boren and his wife, Molly, will draw on the statewide resources of the foundation to promote the establishment and growth of school-based mentoring programs. The foundation introduced the mentoring initiative during its 2005 Fall Forum for Local Education Foundations by offering its first annual seminars on mentoring for school foundation volunteers, administrators and educators. The foundation is also promoting mentoring as part of its outreach program to local education foundations and school districts throughout the state and is encouraging its own trustees and Academic All-State alumni to join in the effort.

Recently, the foundation launched a new mentoring section on its Web site with tools and resources for prospective mentors and for those interested in creating safe and effective mentoring programs in their communities. The foundation is also developing a comprehensive directory of mentoring programs throughout Oklahoma, which will be posted on the Web site. Another component of the mentoring initiative is a statewide public relations campaign to promote the value of mentoring and recruit volunteers.

“We are grateful to First Lady Kim Henry for supporting our mentoring initiative and for her dedication on behalf of Oklahoma’s children,” said Emily Stratton, OFE executive director. “Through our own Schusterman Mentor Program for Academic All-State alumni, we have seen the powerful impact that mentoring can have on academic success as well as on a child’s self-esteem. We see mentorship programs as critical to the success of public education in Oklahoma in the 21st century.”

For more information about the David and Molly Boren Mentoring Initiative, visit the foundation’s Web site at www.ofe.org/mentoring or call Charlotte Jones at (405) 236-0006.