I learned a lot about myself and who I could be. I learned different ways to express my 'smarts.' If my elementary mentee didn't understand, I learned that we could show it, or draw it, or act it out to create learning. It's a different way of doing school for me - and I'm good at it. A Youth Mentorship Program Student Leader

This program not only changed my daughter, but the climate of our entire family. She stands a little taller and more confidently - we all do in fact. A Youth Mentorship Program Parent

On a typical day, 12 students from Wayne Memorial and Tinkham Alternative high schools - all of whom first attend their regular classes - arrive at the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village. There they change clothes, have a group lunch, and spend two and a half hours with their mentor, one of 60 museum employees who each volunteer 12 hours Monday through Thursday to serve as role model, teacher, and friend. Mentor and student work together in the pottery or glassblowing shop, photography or multimedia lab, artifact conservation, antique vehicle maintenance, graphic design, and living history sites.

On Fridays, the students work on a rotating service project of their own design - for instance, on the construction of an enormous sandbox for the mentees at Vandenberg Elementary. Students are working with a local architect on design and a carpenter from the museum on construction. Leaders in the community are providing some materials, and students are collaborating with their mentees at Vandenberg on form and function.

Recipient of the 1998 National Award for Museum Service from the National Institute of Museum and Library Service, this small yet intense program has results to show for its efforts on every front. Among the "at-risk" students - many of them initially on probation or waiting for a court hearing - the average GPA has increased from 1.6 to 3.2 after only one semester in the program. The average number of school absences has dropped from 21 to five. And among participants' families, attendance at program functions has been 100 percent.

With strict requirements - students must stay drug-free and gang-free, attend regular classes, commit to a minimum of 240 hours of participation - and strong support systems for students and families, the program is helping young people develop the skills and self-confidence needed to contribute to their world. It also is giving them a sense of responsibility as well as history.