Saturday, September 19, 2015
Poland high school students help mentor youngsters
POLAND
“Are you a teenager?”
“How good are you at baseball? Do you strike people out?”
“How tall are you? You’re taller than my dad!”
An attentive group of first-grade students at Union Elementary peppered Poland Seminary High School student Matt Baker with questions and exclamations as they eagerly gathered around him during his first day as a peer-mentor at the school.
Matt is one of about 45 high-school students who are part of “Big Dog Little Dog,” a new peer-mentoring program that Poland Schools debuted Friday. High-school students assigned to various time slots will volunteer two days a week at Union to help out in classrooms, act as tutors, help with community-service projects, monitor activities in the cafeteria and on the playground and be “buddies” to the younger students.
The program is mutually beneficial, says Union principal Mike Masucci, who developed it.
“I think this provides the kids at the high school an opportunity to showcase their leadership skills,” he said. “I want them to have an opportunity to shine a little bit.”
Emily Berkebile, a senior at PSHS, hopes her participation in the program will help her get into the National Honor Society, build her resume for college applications and help her decide whether she wants to pursue a career in teaching.
On Friday she was assigned to work in Karen Divito’s special-needs classroom, where Berkebile spent time working one-on-one with second-grade student Joshua Jolliff. Joshua sat with Berkebile and listened attentively as she read a story to him.
Divito says having an extra person in her classroom is helpful because at any given time, she is usually handling multiple tasks.
First-grade teacher Sue Flasco also thinks the program is a good idea, saying it gives younger students the chance to see what it’s like to move on to high school and college.
“This afternoon, I have a girl coming here who I had [as a student] in first grade, so that’s really special. I can say, ‘I had Bella in first grade and look how she’s grown,” Flasco said.
Masucci thinks the program – which he wants to expand to other Poland schools – is beneficial to the “little dogs,” too.
“I’m optimistic that it will have a powerful impact and demonstrate what it takes to be a leader,” he said. “A 5-year-old can be a leader. A 6-year-old can be a leader.”
Students aren’t there to act as teachers, but as role models.
“They have the opportunity to interact with the kids, which really is the goal,” said Masucci. He says something as simple as having an older student walk down the hall to get a drink of water with a younger one can be an opportunity.
“If you’re coming here, you’re going to be a peer buddy,” he said. “Just to be a friend, an ear – a big dog.”