In previous years, Hamburg Area High School has worked in cooperation with the Big Brother Big Sister program of Berks County to run a SMART Program between middle school and high school students.
Every Tuesday, high school student volunteers would go to the middle school to help middle school students with their homework and to serve as positive role models. The program had been run in the past and was recently reintroduced to the school two years ago. Unfortunately, the program has been discontinued as of this school year.
Mrs. Ponter, one of the teachers who helped coordinate the program comments, “The main obstacle we faced was syncing the high school schedule with the middle school schedule and the elementary schools’ logistics.” The Big Brother Big Sister organization requires a minimum meeting time of 45 minutes in order for the mentors to have adequate time to work with their mentees. Since high school students only have allocated free time during the FLEX period that runs from 1:44 to 2:30 pm, and the middle school dismisses at 2:15 pm, there just was not enough time to run an effective program. The travel time between the high school and the elementary schools made running the program even more of a challenge.
Many of the students who participated in the program were upset by its cancellation. Tia Adam notes, “I’m sad that the program is being canceled, because I enjoyed helping the kids at the middle school. Playing games and helping them with their homework was a nice way to help them.” The program allowed high school students to form valuable relationships with middle school students by helping them with their homework, playing games, and offering them someone to talk to.
Former participant Alicia Gilbert comments, “When I first found out SMART was being canceled, I was sad and confused. I looked forward to going and helping the kids with their work and playing games with them. I think they also looked forward to the high schoolers coming.” The program helped to provide positive role models in the lives of younger students. It was something that both the high school and middle school students looked forward to each week.
Bethany Stufflet expressed concerns about losing the benefits that the program offered, adding, “It saddens me when I take a minute and look back at how beneficial it was and would be for the students we would help.” The program offered so many benefits that are now lost due to the cancellation. Many of the middle school students who participated in the program often struggled to complete work in their classes. The program provided a space where they were able to focus on completing assignments in a different setting and with different guidance. Students tended to be more receptive when their mentors guided them through completing their work, which helped them catch up in their classes.
The program also provided high school students the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of younger students and act as role models. Bethany Stufflet notes, “The program truly helps students come out of their comfort zone and hangout with older kids. It also provides them with a sense of security that some kids may not have, as well as someone trustworthy they can go to if they need help with homework or any other issues they are dealing with.”
Mrs. Ponter and the previous members share similar hopes for the future: a similar, in-house program. There is no doubt that a student mentor program has many benefits, however, the varying schedules and logistics across schools and outside organizations made running a program difficult. Their hopes for the future are that the high school is able to work with the middle school, or even the elementary schools, to develop an in-house mentoring program. This would hopefully be less difficult to coordinate and would be able to allow students the opportunity to continue to make a difference in the lives of others. Mrs. Ponter comments, “Working out the program within our district would allow more flexibility in time schedules and possible solutions to address transportation needs. I truly hope that the district would consider exploring the possibility of a mentoring or tutoring program, and I would be very happy to be part of it.”
While it is sad to say goodbye to the SMART Program, it is important to keep in mind the impact the program made even in the short time it ran. High school students were able to connect with and positively impact younger students, and may even be inspirational enough to create a new program that continues to foster positivity and growth within the Hamburg Area School District.
