Northside Mentoring Program

First Free Church, Northside Community Church, and the greater La Crosse community have a partnership with Northside Elementary to provide mentors for students who need additional academic and social support and guidance.

Why are we so excited about this program?

Research shows that mentored youth do significantly better than non-mentored youth on a number of important outcomes, including fewer depressive symptoms, greater acceptance by their peers, more positive beliefs about their ability to succeed in school, and better grades in school (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2007).

“Mentoring helps young people, especially at-risk youth, succeed in school, work, and life. A strong research base supports the efficacy of quality mentoring, including a recent meta-analysis of more than 73 independent mentoring programs that found positive outcomes across social, emotional, behavioral, and academic areas of youth development.” from (The Mentoring Effect:Young People’s Perspectives on the Outcomes and Availability of Mentoring)

Through the generosity of volunteers and donors, our partners invest time and resources in helping our students become healthy and productive adults.

This program has been adapted from the Gundersen Global Partners – At Home Mentoring Program, which is already making an impact at Hamilton Elementary.

Hamilton and Northside Elementary Schools are La Crosse’s two community schools. As such, our focus goes beyond the classroom and looks at the whole child, including their family, their neighborhood, and their community. WE look for ways to provide an environment where every student can reach their full potential.

Northside Elementary School is located on the north side of La Crosse. We are housed in a beautiful new building and are part of the School District of La Crosse. We have approximately 420 students on our campus! Our school is located on nearly five acres of land on the north end of La Crosse within an urban neighborhood.

Fun Fact! We have two schools located within our building:

• Northside Elementary is a conventionally organized school that employs innovative research-based practices and serves students from preschool through fifth grade.
• Coulee Montessori Charter School is a Montessori school with multi-age classrooms from preschool through fifth grade. Coulee Montessori uses Montessori materials, curriculum, and teaching approaches in all its classrooms.

Despite our large size, we cultivate a family atmosphere in both of our schools with an emphasis on developing the whole child and partnering with families and our community to serve our students.