By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – After receiving positive feedback from students and members of the community last year, the Alabaster City School System is expanding its report card conference program this year, said the system’s graduation coach.

After rolling the program out on a limited basis two years ago, ACS expanded the program to all ninth-graders at Thompson High School and some eighth-graders at Thompson Middle School last year.

This school year, ACS is expanding the program to grow with the students, said ACS Graduation Coach Marsha Roach.

“The first year we did it, we did half of the ninth-graders, so that was about 250 students. Last year, we did the entire ninth grade, which was about 500 students, and we had great feedback from that,” Roach said. “This year, we are going to do all of ninth and 10^th grade, which will be more than 1,000 students.”

Through the report card conference program, dozens of community members volunteer their time to meet one-on-one with students shortly after their report cards are issued.

During each mentoring session, the volunteers sit down with the students, review their report cards and provide feedback on ways to improve or continue their academic success.

In the past, community volunteers have included individuals ranging from the city’s police chief, mayor and city manager to Alabaster City Schools central office employees and members of the community.

During previous sessions, the students said they appreciated the one-on-one mentoring, and said it provides an extra incentive to try their hardest in class.

This year, the conferences will be held on Oct. 18, Jan. 10, 2017, and March 21, 2017.

Because of the increased number of students participating this year, ACS is looking for about 30 more community volunteers to serve as mentors. Those interested in serving as mentors should contact Roach at Marsha.Roach@acsboe.org.

Roach said the school system is looking to grow the program each year as the current 10^th-graders progress through THS.

“It’s a great way for the students to meet community stakeholders, and it gives our stakeholders an idea of what is needed in the community,” Roach said.