University of Wisconsin-Green Bay students will embark later this month on a new program that pairs them up with kids from elementary schools in Green Bay.

This is a worthwhile educational venture that will pay off years from now in untold benefits. The mentorship should help give kids a positive perspective on life and let them know opportunities are not outside their grasp.

The idea was formulated by Cyndie Shepard, wife of UWGB Chancellor Bruce Shepard, and Mary Ann Anderson, principal of Jefferson Elementary School.

Shepard shared the idea with others and got the support from the Green Bay School District and UWGB faculty. More than 300 UWGB students responded to a recent e-mail that invited them to become mentors.

"This idea embraces the concept of building a seamless partnership between K-12 and the university system," said Green Bay Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad.

The program will be financed through private donations and federal grants. It is aimed at 10 elementary schools that have a high percentage of students from low-income families.

The elementary students will spend April 22 on campus, where they will meet their mentors, staff and faculty and tour classrooms and campus landmarks. Organizers hope to develop it into a long-term program after that.

Similar mentoring programs nationwide are finding success. Proponents say the programs boost youth self-esteem and can help reduce drop-out rates by encouraging students to stay in school.

In New Haven, Conn., students from Yale University mentor area high school kids. The Yale students say the biggest block is confronting defeatist attitudes in kids who've grown up in harsh environments.

"They think that education is someone else's game," said Jason Leon, president of Yale's Latino-based fraternity. He came from a low-income area in New York City. "We wanted to show them that education is not something that they are boxed out of."

In Green Bay, Rachel Delebreau wants to share her experience with youths. Delebreau said she was scared to death to go to college, but tried her hardest. Now she's a junior at UWGB.

The Phuture Phoenix program will show kids that with hard work, college is possible. The program will foster a relationship between positive role models and our future citizens.