In January 2018, Whitman sophomore Sophia Webb spearheaded a mentorship program between Whitman students and seniors at Lincoln High School–Walla Walla’s only alternative high school–to build relationships between the two groups in context of preparing Lincoln seniors for post-grad life.
Rewind back a few years.
In 2006, only four people graduated from Lincoln High School.
The school was plagued by drugs, violence, suspensions and drop-outs.
“It was a disaster, basically,” Webb said.
The “disaster” lasted until 2007, when Jim Sporleder stepped in as principal of Lincoln, bringing what he calls a “trauma-informed approach” with him.
Upon starting his term as principal, Sporleder attended a conference on complex trauma to learn how trauma impacts your brain development as a child and how that changes your brain structure. He found that trauma makes people more prone to erratic behavior and a whole range of behavioral health problems as well as emotional regulation and physical problems, including an increase in the likelihood of depression, heart disease and cancer.
“It just changes your brain. It changes your whole body,” Webb said.
To continue reading this article by Alissa Antilla, go to: https://whitmanwire.com/featur...-mentorship-program/
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