Be a Mentor, Change a Life!

Being a mentor at GSS is a ministry - an answer to a call to serve. The role of mentor at GSS can take on many different forms. At various points throughout the mentor-mentee relationship, one may serve as:

  • a Teacher, who shares experience and wisdom;
  • a Guide, who helps the mentee navigate life through social and other skills;
  • a Counselor, who builds a trusting, confidential relationship;
  • a Motivator, who encourages and supports a mentee to succeed;
  • an Advisor, who helps develop interests and set goals; or
  • a Role model, who sets a living example of the values, ethics, and practices necessary for a meaningful life.

The key in all of this is relationship-building. Our mentors typically spend one hour a week with their mentees, usually during lunch/recess or the after-school enrichment program (from 4-5 p.m.): talking, tutoring, working, or playing. Upon contacting our Mentor Programs Coordinator, you will be provided with more information and guided through the process, which includes:

  • A Safe Environment Training – a brief workshop provided by the Archdiocese of New Orleans that teaches potential volunteers/employees how to interact with children in an appropriate, life-giving manner,
  • A brief on-line background check,
  • A thorough fingerprint background check.

Each of these steps is crucial in ensuring the safety and well-being of our students (and it is cost-free). Please note this process may take up to several weeks.

If this sounds like a role for you, please call or email our Graduate Support Director, Mr. Chris Heine: cheine@thegoodshepherdschool.org /  (504) 598-9399 x 206 or or fill out the contact information form to the right.  

    Mentor Form
The Good Shepherd School
1839 Agriculture St
New Orleans, LA 70119
Tel: (504) 598-9399
GSS Mission Statement
The Good Shepherd Nativity Mission School, Inc., seeks to help low-income, urban youth in order to realize their fullest potential as productive members of society by providing them with an extended-day, year-round, quality education, integrated with personal, moral and spiritual development, and continued guidance during the students' further education.

The Judeo-Christian values which have inspired the Nativity model include a respect for the dignity and potential of each person, a responsibility to assist the poor and those in need, a strong sense of community within the one family of God, and the obligation to promote a society characterized by social justice. In this Nativity model, students are enrolled without regard to race, color, religion, or ethnicity.