Reality therapy: the program that was to be implemented in Canajoharie High School in Canajoharie (N.Y.) Central School District was a close runner-up in the X-Factor award.

DONALD BOWDEN, THE PRINCIPAL OF CANAJOHARIE HIGH School, sees in some of his most struggling students a disconnect between their school studies and the life experiences that are shaping their view of the world when they're not in the classroom.

"These kids are out there, doing other things, looking for jobs, and when they look at school administrators like me ... it's like we're from Oz," he says.

Bowden wants to change all that--to inject more of a "commonsensical reality" into Canajoharie High School--and with grant monies, he would do it through a mentoring program calling on retired professionals from the local and surrounding communities to help.

The mentors--or "emissaries from the outside world," as he calls them--would not only spark more excitement and enthusiasm into some of the most academically struggling students, but also act as surrogate parents for many of the students who don't have strong support networks outside of school, adds Bowden.

The Canajoharie district is a small community of 1,200 students in an impoverished rural town, and the mentors--drawn from the ranks of police, firefighters, military officials, business executives, technicians and medical personnel--could serve as role models, career counselors, teacher-student liaisons, and parent-child liaisons, Bowden says. "The mentors would not just communicate the scope of their job, but also take an active interest in the student's schoolwork, tests, and life in general," he notes. Mentors would be paid an honorarium of $4,000 per year for a one-day-a-week commitment.