Earlier this year, Orange Grove High School, a continuation school in the Corona-Norco Unified School District, launched a mentoring program to support OGHS students. The program involves a group of 10 students who are mentored by multiple CNUSD maintenance staff members, including carpenters, electricians, painters, and HVAC personnel. The goal of the mentoring program is to utilize small projects, related to maintenance, in order to build connections between maintenance staff members and students. Orange Grove High students demonstrate a desire to work in construction and maintenance related industries. Their mentors share personal stories, make connections, and at the same time teach students hands on skills.

"This partnership with maintenance speaks to the caliber of adults that serve our students, and to our district wide focus on student wellbeing,” said Carlos Guillen, Orange Grove Principal. “Our maintenance team is not only teaching skills, but more importantly they are sharing their personal stories and engaging in a mentoring model to lift up some of our most underserved and at promise students.”

On Friday, May 26th, the CNUSD maintenance team hosted a barbecue for the senior students they have mentored throughout the year to celebrate their accomplishments and end the school year with encouragement for the future.