In one of their tri-weekly mentorship sessions one morning, a handful of boys from Ferndale High School and Horizon Middle School, along with Horizon’s counselors, were hashing out the effects of anger and aggression. While the middle schoolers offered up answers, one high schooler jotted them down on a sheet of butcher paper taped to the Horizon gym wall.

“What happens when you get angry?” one of the high school students asked his middle school mentee.

“I say and do stuff I don’t mean,” the middle schooler responded. “You do something that you regret,” chimed in another.

The conversations about the impacts of anger — its challenges, effects, and even its potential benefits — continued throughout that morning. The next day, the group of FHS and Horizon students channeled their energy through a productive outlet in a game of dodgeball.

This FHS-Horizon mentorship program launched in late November, sparked by the middle school’s spirited counselor duo of Michelle Townsdin and Abby Wilson. They’re hoping the program will support these students by connecting them with positive role models; thereby fostering growth, connection, and leadership.

“They’re tired of hearing from us, so it’s nice for them to hear from high school boys who they can see themselves in,” said Townsdin with a chuckle.

“We want to help redirect them and say, you’re making a choice here, but what are your other choices?” added Wilson. “And how can we use their skillset in a positive way?”

Townsdin and Wilson teamed up with Erin Gunter, who runs the Be The One mentorship program at FHS, to recruit high schoolers for the new program. Three times a week, Gunter chooses nine FHS students to visit Horizon during advisory period. These students are nominated by FHS staff for their leadership qualities.

“They’ve been through the middle school years, the hard times, and they’ve learned how to adapt and behave,” Gunter said. “They’re coming to show them that yes, you can behave and still have fun.”

Townsdin and Wilson selected 13 Horizon boys for the program who they thought would benefit from based on student data, along with teacher and counselor input. Students were invited to participate in the program through an interview and survey, which included questions such as “How do you deal with frustration?” and “Do you have an adult at school you feel connected to?” This winter, students will re-take this survey to celebrate and measure their growth and progress.

Townsdin and Wilson said the overarching goal of the program was to give Horizon students the tools and mentorship so they can solve their own problems and regulate their feelings without needing disciplinary intervention.

“It feels like we’re often in reactive mode, especially when it comes to aggression or conflict,” Wilson said. “The preferred method of addressing these issues is to get out in front of it – it feels more positive than waiting for them to do something bad and then coming down hard on them.”

Russel Covington, a sophomore at Ferndale High School who volunteers as a mentor, said he enjoys working with the Horizon students.

“This was something I didn’t get when I was in middle school, and it was something I really, really needed,” he said. “So I thought I could help these younger kids.”

Even though the program has only been in place for a few weeks, the Horizon counselors have already noted that their students have been showing encouraging signs.

“I thought they’d be like, ‘Why are you putting me in this, why am I in trouble?’ But they have a sense of pride of being in this group,” Townsdin said. “The first week, they wore their name tags around the whole day!”

“One thing I’ve noticed is that already, in the hallways, those boys who previously would ignore me are a bit more responsive,” Wilson added. “I don’t know if they now feel seen or cared about, but we thought, ‘Oh, this is important.’”

Townsdin and Wilson said that if the program is a success this year, they may try to help duplicate it at Vista Middle School in the future.