Dr. Ron Kelley loves being a mentor. His connection to North East ISD makes the role he considers to be a privilege even more special. Once a month, he mentors students at the schools he grew up attending – Montgomery Elementary School, Ed White Middle School and Roosevelt High School.
Kelley is a former teacher and principal who found his passion for leadership in education. He founded the National Mentoring Foundation in 2021 and started investing back into the district that raised him. Kelley works closely with African American male students at the elementary, middle and high school level.
“It’s changed but it also hasn’t changed,” said Kelley. “One thing that has remained the same is the energy in the building. I still see that same dedication to education and the same high standards at NEISD. Our entire mentoring focus this year is the feeder pattern that I attended.”
Kelley covered Black History Month during the February meeting at Ed White, which sparked genuine conversations about history, identity and culture from the young men in the room. The questions asked and the values shared during the discussion are a direct reflection of Kelley’s ability to connect with the kids where they are today.
“It’s funny, someone posted the panoramic class photo from the 8th grade on Facebook and I could not find myself anywhere,” said Kelley. “Turns out the reason I couldn’t find myself is I was sitting by the principal in the front row with a suit on! I look at that and I know that’s why I do mentoring now. They were mentoring me back then.”
