Butler’s mentor program has quickly grown in popularity with its students. Madere said students in her counseling groups ask to look at her calendar, to see when the mentors are coming next.
The program includes a “conscious discipline” method of teaching students to resolve conflict without fighting. Butler also brought in behavior specialist Brooke Gestrich in August, to work with specific students.
Gestrich said that simply having a role model from outside school often helps to reinforce good behavior. “It kind of shows them that this is the way other members of society act outside of school,” Gestrich said.