News & Announcements

TFS launches peer mentoring initiative 

A fresh twist on the ninth-grade experience at Tallulah Falls School connects the younger students with senior mentors. 

At a Class of 2022 team-building meeting held on Aug. 20, seniors picked up cards with photos of the freshmen; the card also featured a few facts about the student. 

The matching process started then, said Upper School Academic Dean Kim Popham. 

“The senior class expressed a desire to mentor the freshmen as a leadership opportunity,” Popham said. 

On Sept. 17, pairs connected for the first time, with senior mentors holding up handmade signs to reveal the name of the freshmen mentees. 

The goal of the program is to help the younger students acclimate to the upper school environment and to provide the seniors with a chance to refine leadership skills. 

According to Assistant Academic Dean Jim Van Hooser, Dean of Students Jimmy Franklin along with senior capstone teachers Dallas Barron and Ashley Walden have been instrumental in providing guidance as the senior class planned this activity as well as other monthly activities to further these important connections between the students.

A photo op marked the day with another photo session planned for the end of the year.