While many Fairfax schools have their own mentoring programs, most reach only a small number of students.
Some schools have no programs.
So, Fairfax schools, the Fairfax County Council of PTAs and the Fairfax Partnership for Youth have joined in Mentorworks, an effort to coordinate existing programs and fill in the gaps. The idea is to recruit as many adults as possible to work with children . Domenech said parents often are too busy or otherwise unable to provide all the supervision and help their children need. Teachers with large classes often can't give students the individual attention needed to catch problems. Mentors can help fill those gaps, he said.