Robinwood Lane pupils take time to help others

The program benefits both groups of kids, their teachers say.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The word friend has a special meaning for some pupils at Robinwood Lane Elementary School.
Fourth-graders in Jan Zorman's class volunteer to be fourth-grade friends to the pupils in Nicole Hagerty's multi-disabled class. Volunteers give up their recess each day in favor of spending time with the other children.
The two teachers came up with the idea about four years ago.
"We were talking one day about how important it is for my kids to mimic and model other children," Hagerty said. "And Jan's kids like to be modeled."
Disabilities in Hagerty's class of six pupils range from Down syndrome and autism to a rare chromosome disorder.
Two children from Zorman's class match up with one from Hagerty's class.
A typical situation
Most sessions are spent on the school playground where they can run around, swing on the swing set or enjoy the sliding board.
"They can see one of us teachers kicking a ball, but when they see other kids kicking a ball, it's different," Hagerty said.
The teachers and pupils use a picture exchange communication system that allows the nonverbal children to communicate what they want.
The canister bears pictures of different playground activities affixed by Velcro. The nonverbal children pull the activity that they want to do off the canister and give it to their fourth-grade friend, teacher or aide.
Erin Tamulonis and Miranda McDonald of Zorman's class work with Noah Grzyb, 7, one of Hagerty's pupils.
"He sort of has a routine," Erin said of Noah. "He goes on the swings first and then he walks around for a while."
Hagerty first gives Zorman's pupils the option of choosing which child they'd like to be assigned to. If they don't gel with a particular pupil, Hagerty does the matching.
"I wanted Noah because I think he's fun," Erin said.
Building on the success
Some of the children form strong bonds. Last year's fourth-graders return to Hagerty's class to visit their friends and they've become fifth-grade pen pals, the teacher said.
A few of the pupils even spent time with their fourth-grade friends over the summer.
"Another good thing is that the parents have gotten involved," Zorman said.
When Hagerty wanted to give Christmas presents from her pupils to their fourth-grade friends, the parents were more than generous, she said.
Hagerty had to talk one parent out of too-extravagant a contribution.
But the relationships produced some surprises too.
"One of my students last year didn't talk," Hagerty said. "The girl he was with, her name was Tiana, and one day when she came into the classroom, he said, 'Tia.' We couldn't believe it."
During school assemblies, the two classes often sit together and rather than fidgeting or becoming distracted, the pupils in Hagerty's class sit with their hands folded in their laps, mirroring Zorman's pupils, the teachers said.
Zorman's pupils also benefit.
One of her former pupils was a discipline problem in class except when he was with his friend in Hagerty's class.
"He just seemed to find his niche in life," Zorman said. "He still says that he wants to go into special education."
The program received a $4,000 grant this year from Johnson Controls, which has offices in the Mahoning Valley. That money will be used for the children to take four field trips.
"We started with only two or three kids, and each year we think that we'll never have a group that was as good as the last one," Hagerty said. "But each year, the groups just keep getting better and better."