Salem School District

When the "CTE Ambassadors" walked into the Fisk Elementary gymnasium recently, they weren't just high school students in matching t-shirts—to the wide-eyed elementary school students, they were a glimpse into the future.

The visit was part of Fisk’s monthly School Wide Community Celebration (SWCC), a tradition designed to unify the student body. This month, the theme was "Hard Work." But for the Salem School District, the event represented something much larger: the real-world rollout of a strategic initiative to expand peer mentoring across all grade levels.

A Lesson in 'Grit'

The third-grade hosts spent weeks preparing for the assembly, diving into the concepts of persistence and "grit." To move beyond the classroom walls, the students took a field trip to the Salem Career Technical Education (CTE) Center. There, they saw how the determination they learn in primary school transforms into tangible skills they can use in careers like automotive technology and health sciences.

However, the "Aha!" moment came when, the following week, the students entered the gymnasium to find the "big kids" waiting for them.

The Return of the Falcons

The assembly featured a heartwarming homecoming. Several of the Salem CTE Ambassadors are former "Fisk Falcons," returning to the very halls where they first learned to read and write. This "vertical mentoring"—connecting the district’s oldest students with its youngest—is one of the initiatives of Salem’s current strategic plan.

"Watching our Salem CTE Student Ambassadors serve as role models for these elementary students was outstanding," said Allison Plante, Internship Coordinator and CTE Ambassador Advisor. "They actively applied the leadership and professional skills they’ve been cultivating in the classroom to a real-world setting."

More Than Just a Theme

During the presentation, the third graders shared the stage with their high school counterparts. The younger students spoke about what they had learned regarding determination, while the high school ambassadors explained how the interests they held as children grew into serious career paths through hard work.

The interaction served a dual purpose. For the elementary students, it made the future feel attainable. For the high schoolers, it was a moment of reflection.

"This experience didn't just benefit the younger students; it served as a powerful reminder to our ambassadors of their own paths and the future dreams they are working toward," Plante added.

A District-Wide Vision

By integrating these interactions into the school's monthly celebrations, the Salem School District is proving that mentorship isn't just an extracurricular activity—it’s a core part of the educational experience. The event effectively turned "Hard Work" from a vocabulary word into a living bridge, connecting the present-day efforts of a third grader to the professional success of a graduating senior.

As the assembly concluded, the message to the Fisk Falcons was clear: the doors to the future are open, and their older peers are standing by to help them walk through.