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Boardman high school students serve as mentors
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Second-grader Cayden Dunn (left) watched as high school senior Brittany Ondrey cut out her Christmas wish list. Market Street Elementary's Big Brother Big Sister program meets once a month.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Market Street Elementary fourth-grader Yesenia Andujar's (left) big sister is high school junior Courtney Miller. The high schoolers are assigned little brothers and little sisters for the academic school year.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Boardman High schoolers brought Christmas gifts Dec. 17 for their little brothers and sisters at Market Street Elementary. Twenty-four high school students participate in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
Big brothers and sisters don’t always have to be blood related.
This is the second year for Market Street Elementary’s Big Brother-Big Sister program and it is off to a good start. Program supervisor Jen Carey said Market Street was one of the last elementary’s to implement the program, but now that it is up and running, the students seem to respond well to it.
“It gives the kids a chance to make a connection with high school students and encourage them to feel like they are connected with someone else and have a good role model who is only a few years older,” Carey said.
Boardman High students are chosen for the position as a big brother or sister. They are required to put in an application with letters of recommendations from teachers. Only juniors and seniors can participate in the program and this year, 24 high school students are involved.
The elementary students chosen to be little brothers and sisters vary from kindergartners to fourth-graders. They are randomly chosen by Cary, teachers and parents.
“Sometimes it’s through parent referrals and sometimes it’s just students that I know need a little more one-on-one attention,” Carey said.
The high-schoolers travel to the elementary the third Friday of each month for one hour to complete a craft project together. This is high-schooler Tori Centofanti’s first year working as a big sister. She didn’t have a program like this when she was younger, but said it is beneficial for the kids and herself.
“I like kids and talking with and getting to know my little brother is fun,” Centofanti said.