When Sandy Armour and Rena McAllister began as guidance counselors at North Hall Middle School, 21 of their students had mentors.

Preliminary numbers for 2011 show only nine students involved in a mentor program. Armour called it a sad decline, but McAllister sees 2011 as a building year for the program.

"This is our fifth year at the middle school," McAllister said. "We really need to recruit some more mentors and get some of these businesses out here. We need to really focus on getting a large group of mentors."

It's not just North Hall that's suffering a decrease. Staci Tunkel, director of mentoring for Center Point, said the entire program needs mentors.

"This year we want to train 150 mentors. We have 320 mentors returning this year," she said.

With more than 31,000 children enrolled in local schools, 320 barely puts a dent in the number of students who would like to have a community role model.

McAllister said for many students, especially those who are going through a rough patch or who come from a nontraditional home environment, mentors provide consistency.

"A lot of times these students have attendance issues or they feel like they don't fit in. The mentor can help encourage students. ... They help academically when they provide some short-term tutoring," she said. "It's someone who can be that cheerleader for the student to help them get through a tough part in their life."

Armour said Center Point sends a list of interested community members to counselors, who then match up recommended students.

"Most of our mentors are ones who begin in elementary school and choose to follow their child," she said. "We still have some students who go up to high school with their same mentor."

Tunkel said some people shy away from being a mentor because they think in order to be a mentor they have to be perfect.

"They feel that to be a role model you have to be a model citizen," she said. "All you have to do is be willing."

Not everyone chooses to follow their students for years. Armour said mentors could also volunteer their time for a year or two.

Todd Sharp, a senior UNIX engineer with Cox Enterprises in Atlanta, did both.

As his children attended and his wife worked at Martin Technology Academy of Math and Science, Sharp spent a lot of time at the school, and was approached about mentoring.

"I started three years ago. I had one mentee the first year, then he moved to another county. The second year I met James and I plan on working with him again this year," Sharp said.

When he visits James, Sharp said he goes to the school and talks about work, class and how the week is going.

Sometimes he helps with tutoring. Sometimes the two play games, and other times Sharp brings lunch.

"Last year James switched schools ... so we did a pen-pal thing with his old school," Sharp said.

Krys Crawford, a claims administrator with OHL in Gainesville, also includes activities outside the realm of just being a confidante for her students.

"I bring us lunch and we talk about what's going on at school. I pretty much leave the door open for her," Crawford said. "During the summer, we went to dinner once a week."

Crawford said she was with her first student for six years. Though they no longer work together in that capacity, the two still keep in touch. She said she's learned a lot about kids through working in the mentor program.

"It really has affected me to where I'm more in tune with children," she said. "I'm in a situation to give these kids things they might not have ever gotten. I think it's had a complete positive effect on me."

She tries to instill confidence and independence in her apprentices.

Sharp has similar feedback. He said mentoring James helps the boy gain self-confidence and learn a new perspective on life.

"It makes me realize how different things are," Sharp said. "It opened my eyes to different experiences than I had growing up."

Tunkel said mentoring can be challenging, but it's worth the effort.

"A couple of the girls I've worked with, I've seen them go from failing to all As and Bs," she said.

"(Mentoring) is something that's ingrained in you. It just exposes these kids to the opportunities that encourage them to dream big."