Why be a mentor?
Volunteer to be a mentor if you are 21 years of age or older, love reading, and enjoy sharing ideas with youth.

What does a mentor do?
Through a discussion and question/answer session with the student, mentors provide the verification that a student has actually read a book.

How do you become a mentor?
Register with the Claudia Foundation by contacting them at (573) 686-3040. Select books you would like to mentor from the Senior High Reading list and/or the Junior High Reading list. Parents of students participating in the Charlie Clasics Reading Program can register as mentors, but may mentor only two books for their own children per Charlie Classics year. One of the rewards of the program is the enriching experience of meeting other community volunteer mentors.

Where are mentoring sessions held?
Suggested places for mentoring students include the Senior High library or counseling center, the Junior High library or conference room, the Bloodworth House, the public library, a local restaurant, or any other public area. Mentor sessions are not held over the phone.

How will mentor appointements be made?
Students will call mentors to schedule an appointment. You may chooise the place and the time convenient for you. When mentoring at the junior high or senior high, please notify school office personnel of your presence and purpose on school grounds.

How do I conduct a mentor session?
Ask specific questions instead of genereal ones. Most students do not respond well to "Tell me about the book." Include questions about the main charcters, the problems or conflicts in the story, and all aspects of the plot. You are checking to see if the student read the whole book, and not just the beginning or ending.

Be aware of the differences between the novel and the move, (an increasing problem as more literary works are being made into movies) or the difference between a movie and an adaptation. Ask questions that only pertain to the novel. Sell the joy of reading and encourage the student to read other books on the list.

Offer to re-mentor at a later date if the student does not appear to have read the book completely. Do not re-mentor the same book for the same student more than three times; suggest the student find a different mentor from the list provided.

Make sure reading receipts are filled out completely before signing. Give both copies of the receipt to the student. It is their responsibility to place the white copy in a designated Charlie Classics receipt box. Remind students to keep their yellow copies to verify their eligibility for gift certificate incentives and scholarship. Notify the Claudia Foundation when you need more reading receipts and more will be mailed to you.