By Jen Clancey STAFF WRITER
Each week, 14 Big Sky School District students meet with mentors, usually during their flex or study hall hours. The program has fostered relationships between students and mentors from the Big Sky community for more than five years. However, at the beginning of this school year, BSSD transitioned to a staff-run mentorship program after the former program facilitator and nonprofit, Thrive, focused their Child Advancement Project program on the Gallatin Valley area.
BSSD students involved in the continued program, now called “Miner Mentors” after the Ophir Miners mascot, are either recommended by teachers or parents, and their ages can range from elementary to high school students. Leaders of the program said it gives kids individualized attention and provides a source of support outside of a student’s home and school life. Mentors can work on hobbies, academics, students’ goals or just talk about what’s happening in the student’s life. The program also invites community members to become more involved in the community’s schools.
At the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, Erika Frounfelker, Ophir Elementary School counselor and art teacher, and Janet Martinez, Ophir Middle School and Lone Peak High School counselor, led the program by maintaining matches and creating ways for parents and teachers to continue to get involved.
“I’ve watched it over the years, and the kids always love seeing their mentor and doing the activities … and then this year when I brought the mentor down to see [a student] for the first time … [the student’s] face just lit up. They ran and they hugged him,” Frounfelker said. Some mentors have more than one mentee that they meet during the week.
“It’s good to bring mentors in who maybe don’t have kids… or don’t come down to the school often,” Frounfelker said. She said BSSD Superintendent Dr. Dustin Shipman was “adamant” about continuing the program when Thrive discontinued its Big Sky program, and he asked the counselors to lead the charge.
“He saw such a benefit to our students that were in the program and how much they looked forward to having somebody that they could talk to and somebody that they could do certain things with,” Frounfelker said.
Martinez noted that the counselors offer themselves as a resource to mentors who may have questions about how to best support their mentees.
One mentor in the program is a familiar face around schools for students. Matt Daugherty is the school safety manager, and mentors three kids in the program. Participation in the program has been meaningful for him.
“I think a lot more kids could benefit from the program if we had enough mentors,” Daugherty said. On top of building relationships with mentees, he’s learned a lot about the community and the complexity of students’ lives through the program as well.
Daugherty believes many people misunderstand local students, assuming that Big Sky is a wealthy population where kids don’t face common issues such as family and emotional struggles.
“[We’re] all human and there’s all kinds of stuff and there’s all different levels. It’s needed. And I really love the program,” he said.
Daugherty expressed gratitude that his colleagues continued the program. “I’m so glad that you two stepped up to keep it going ’cause I was a little nervous about that,” Daugherty said.
To help in the effort, the Big Sky Rotary Club donated games that mentors and students can play when they meet up each week.
Residents who wish to get involved can reach out to Frounfelker and Martinez and ask about participating in the program. Other mentorship volunteer opportunities include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Big Sky Country which serves BSSD.
“I know there’s lots of people in this community who would love to come down and be part of our school community and be helpful in some type of way, and that I think this is a good outlet for that,” Frounfelker said.
