DUBLIN — One Dublin middle school is taking the name from an old R&B group and turning it into a mentoring group for young men.
Dublin City Schools hopes the new program will keep its students from ending up on the wrong side of the law.
"We believe in you and we know the sky is the limit for you all as long as you stay on the right path," said Dublin Middle principal Jaroy Stuckey.
25 young men at the middle school start each Monday with their mentors. Stuckey started and now leads the "Boyz II Men" mentoring program where he hopes to gives students like Javan Brown the resources to be successful.
"I really like the group and the people that are in it," Brown said.
The young men get their grades and behavior checked weekly by volunteer mentors while also taking a monthly field trip to learn about things, like the voting process.
"When we went to the college, I liked how they told everybody to vote [and] you can't get mad when the president you didn't pick [doesn't] win," JaKarter Blue said.
Anthony Smith helps mentor kids like Blue and he says his goal is to teach the boys respect for themselves and others.
"Be trustworthy. What it takes to really be a man is being focused and not being led down the wrong path," Smith said.
Dublin native and mentor Terry Chappell says watching things change in his backyard made him want to help out.
"I've been with Dublin Middle School for two years now, so I enjoy working with the kids," Chappell said.
Brown says becoming a man is something he knows "Boyz II Men" will teach him.
"Going on the right path and trying to do better in school and not playing. Doing my work and stuff like that," Brown said.
Dublin Middle School also has a mentoring group for females called Sisters with a Vision.
Stuckey says the main purpose is similar -- making sure their students are getting all the help they need.