Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee has launched an inspiring new high school mentoring program at Karns High School, pairing high school juniors with fourth graders at nearby Karns Elementary.
The initiative is part of the organization’s growing focus on school-based mentoring, which offers consistent, one-on-one guidance in a familiar and safe environment.
While Big Brothers Big Sisters is well known for its community-based mentoring, Chief Program Officer Savannah Carter said this model reflects a national trend toward programs that happen during the school day.
“There’s something really special about the peer connection between older and younger students—especially when it’s intentional,” Carter said. “It’s about finding shared interests, building trust, and showing up every week.”
The high school mentors—called “Bigs”—visit their “Littles” once a week for about 30 minutes, and whether they’re playing foosball, drawing, or simply talking, the time is unstructured but meaningful.
And the impact flows both ways: Littles benefit from a consistent, positive role model, while Bigs gain leadership experience, communication skills, and something valuable to talk about in future job or college interviews.
So far, six Big-Little matches have been made at Karns, with more planned for the coming school year. The goal is for each pair to remain matched through the end of the high school student’s senior year—creating a powerful two-year bond.
“It’s been incredible to see the high schoolers take initiative and show up at 7 a.m. because they want to be there,” Carter said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters hopes to expand this program to other Knox County schools. Interested school staff can reach out to Jennifer Davis (jdavis@tennesseebig.org) or Savannah Carter (scarter@tennesseebig.org) to learn more about bringing this opportunity to their campuses.
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