Jim Schmotzer 
Year End Report 2021-22 Our story: We were thinking, hoping that this year would see the end of the pandemic and return of school rhythms more in line with past expectations. We did return in the fall, but as the pandemic lingered and the flooding hit the Valley all systems were challenged. The combined and … Read more
Nooksack Valley High School & Middle School Be The One Coordinator Report May 2022 Stories & snippets Each Monday Eddie, a 6th grader, stops by my office on the way to his first class and says, “Mentoring today at 1 pm with Jose. Right?” He knows the rhythm and is saving me having to find him … Read more
Stories & snippets A new match at the middle school brought with it a shift in attitude by a 6th grade student. His music teacher reported that Albert had been disengaged and not willing to participate in class. His meeting with his mentor was during part of music class, and after he began meeting with his … Read more
Stories & snippets · This month we mark two years since the arrival of the Covid pandemic and specifically the impact on schools and mentoring. Like everything, mentoring was changed in never-before-seen ways. We adapted and adjusted to emails and virtual meetings. We had fits and starts and “not again” moments. It was a struggle for … Read more
Stories & snippets · A story of faithful commitment and resilience. Reba began mentoring Kaylene in Lynden. In March of 2020 Kaylene moved with her family to the Nooksack Valley. The day after Kaylene toured the school and officially transferred details covid hit, and school went virtual. Reba continued a steady presence in Kaylene’s life, first … Read more
Stories & snippets · Michael and Edgar were matched at the tail end of two historic floods in the Valley and shortly before our winter break. Coming back in January we were faced with freezing temperatures damaging our High School and resulting in students moving to remote learning for the first week of January. Wednesday night … Read more
August – September 2021 Stories & snippets A mentor called me to tell me his mentee (graduated June 2021) called to tell him they had gotten into the nursing program at Bellingham Technical. Good news travels fast. A high school student messaged me five minutes before time to start a virtual meeting saying they did … Read more
Stories & snippets One of our newest mentors spends time in Idaho. After a connecting with a student and a few weeks of meetings at school it was time for the first virtual session. On the day of the first virtual meeting, I was in Oregon for family reasons. This resulted in a meeting of … Read more
April 2021 Stories & snippets Mentors are returning to campus and we are enjoying the fullness of person-to-person meetings. At 12:30 on a Thursday afternoon at our High School we had both our longest serving mentor and newest mentor meeting with their respective students. April focus: Reconnecting on campus for face-to-face meetings while still supporting virtual … Read more
Stories & snippets This month we received approval to return to on campus mentoring. This is exciting news, and we are now working to restart existing matches and begin new connections. This move has brought both the joy through reconnecting live matches and the assurance that it is okay to continue virtually. Some mentors are choosing … Read more