Covington Bulldog Buddies Peer Mentoring Program Expands to Ninth District Elementary

The Covington Mentoring Program’s Bulldog Buddies Peer Mentoring Program powered by Partners For Change continues to grow, expanding its reach to serve even more students across Covington Independent Public Schools. This year, the program proudly launched at Ninth District Elementary School, marking another milestone in strengthening connections between high school mentors and younger students throughout the district.

Bulldog Buddies pairs student mentors from Holmes High School with fourth- and fifth-grade students for bi-weekly mentoring sessions during enrichment time. Each match spends 45–60 minutes together engaging in guided activities that focus on social-emotional learning (SEL), building relationships, and helping younger students prepare for the transition to middle school.

In addition to supporting social-emotional growth, the mentoring sessions are intentionally aligned with Covington Independent Public Schools’ Portrait of a Learner competencies, helping students grow as Resilient Learners, Effective Communicators, Critical Thinkers, Compassionate Citizens, Lifelong Contributors, Conscientious Collaborators, and Ambitious Achievers.

The program offers a unique opportunity for Holmes High School students to positively impact younger peers while strengthening their own leadership skills. Before being matched with a mentee, all peer mentors participate in formal training focused on the five core components of social-emotional learning, along with strategies for effective communication, conflict resolution, maintaining confidentiality, and fostering positive relationships with younger students.

 These structured mentoring sessions are designed to promote healthy decision-making, social-emotional development, and substance use prevention among youth. Through activities and conversation, mentors help younger students build key life skills such as self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

The program is led by Kate Andriacco and Jarrett Spisak of the Department of Community & Family Engagement at Covington Independent Public Schools, who work closely with schools to coordinate mentoring matches and ensure students receive meaningful support.

 The program’s recent expansion into Ninth District Elementary has already had a meaningful impact on students.

 Dr. Onkst, the school counselor at Ninth District Elementary, shared, “The peer mentoring program has been incredibly meaningful for our students at Ninth District Elementary. Students who often struggle in social situations have flourished—children we rarely saw smile were beaming, and others felt empowered to share their difficult experiences because of the warm, welcoming environment created by the Holmes mentors.”

So far this school year, Bulldog Buddies has created 48 mentoring matches across four elementary schools and the middle school, with Ninth District Elementary now joining the growing network of participating sites.

By fostering supportive relationships between students of different ages, Bulldog Buddies is helping to create a more connected school community, one where younger students feel supported and high school mentors develop the leadership and empathy that will serve them long after graduation.