Northside Urban Pathways Charter School is kicking off a mentoring program for female students to complement a similar initiative for boys founded about three years ago.

The program is to be called Women In Sync Everywhere, or WISE. A recruitment breakfast for both initiatives was held yesterday at The Rivers Club, Downtown.

WISE will pair high school students at the Downtown charter school with professional women willing to counsel them about school, colleges, careers, relationships, family issues and other topics.

"Nothing is off the table," said LaVette Wagner, a program coordinator.

Allegheny County Councilwoman Amanda Green and Carmen Robinson, a lawyer and former city mayoral candidate, will be ambassadors for the program. Common Pleas Judge and former Steelers cornerback Dwayne Woodruff is ambassador for the boys' program, called Benefitting African-American Males, or BAAM.

Ms. Wagner, an office manager and yoga teacher, said she knows how difficult it can be for a young woman to juggle work, school and other concerns. She said a mentor can lend a sympathetic ear and help a young person "maneuver through life."

While some mentoring programs focus on younger students, Linda Clautti, charter school CEO, said WISE is designed to help teenagers through the high school and college years. She said mentoring relationships established in high school can give students the strength to weather a tough first year of college.

"A lot of times, they just don't have the confidence to do what they need to do," Dr. Clautti said.

Since its inception, BAAM has matched about 40 students and mentors. Many students in the program still are in high school.

Northside Urban Pathways isn't the only school looking to increase mentoring opportunities. In June, city and county officials made what they described as the region's largest-ever call for mentors, saying they wanted to find hundreds of them for sixth-graders in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Like BAAM does with is participants, WISE will hold monthly meetings for all students and mentors to discuss issues such as etiquette and how to act on a job interview. In addition, students and mentors are expected to communicate regularly by phone and e-mail, Ms. Wagner said.

Prospective mentors should contact the charter school at 412-392-4601. A training session will be held Nov. 21.

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