COACH Kids of Clinton County has announced the expansion of one of its programs into the Community Schools of Frankfort for high school mentors to develop new relationships with elementary school and middle school mentees.
COACH Kids announced Thursday morning, July 18 that the Local Heroes and COACH Kids Club programs will be available for Frankfort High School students to become mentors in the elementary schools, Suncrest Elementary School, Blue Ridge Elementary School and Green Meadows Intermediate School, and Frankfort Middle School.
The programs have been staple opportunities for high school students at Clinton Central High School, Clinton Prairie High School and Rossville High School for numerous years, but due to the separate campuses of Frankfort High School in relation to the elementary schools, the program showed a need for further organization and planning from the COACH Kids team. The elementary students were offered the opportunity to receive an adult mentor at the Frankfort elementary while the program’s logistics were being configured, and despite the opportunity being opened to the high school students, adult mentors are still encouraged to participate in the Local Heroes program.
Beginning today, July 18, juniors and seniors at Frankfort High School may apply to mentor at one of the four schools, and the COACH Kids team plans to add freshmen and sophomores to the program for the 2025-2026 school year following further planning to cement the logistics of the students traveling outside of the school.
COACH Kids Executive Director Katie Schimmel expressed her enthusiasm for the program as COACH Kids Club prepares to engage the Frankfort High School students in a brand new opportunity.
“I am incredibly excited to see Community Schools of Frankfort now on the list of schools we have high school mentors in,” Schimmel said. “This program is such a great program not only for the mentee but also for the young mentor. It gives these kids the opportunity to show leadership and compassion to others. It also gives them the opportunity to take responsibility for something so wonderful.”
Schimmel continued to express her gratitude toward the members of the Community Schools of Frankfort who are making the program a possibility, such as Jennifer Miller, Frankfort High School Principal, and Heidi Troyer, Frankfort Middle School Counselor.
“I can not thank Frankfort School Board, Heidi Troyer and Jennifer Miller enough for working with us to make this happen,” Schimmel said. “I look forward to seeing what these partnerships blossom into.”
Frankfort High School students who wish to be part of the new COACH Kids Club program at the high school may complete an interest form here.