麻豆精品

Kids taking care of littler kids.

It happens in families all the time. Schools are making it a mission.

Bullen Middle School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has made it an occupation.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204410297014766&set=a.1144366106607&type=3&theater

They鈥檙e called transition coaches, and eighth-graders sign up for many reasons, but mostly because it鈥檚 the right thing to do.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity at a leadership role and to help the sixth-graders. Because, you know, you鈥檙e nervous when you first get here,鈥� Mylee Spruillee told the Kenosha News website on the first day of school last week when she and her fellow coaches lined the halls, raucously greeting the sixth-graders with cheers and high fives.

鈥淲hen we were clapping in the hallway, we saw the nervousness there.鈥�

https://www.facebook.com/BullenBobcats/videos/460947487744241/

 

Bullen English teacher Jennifer Jankiewicz told more than 200 sixth-graders at an orientation that day, 鈥淲e鈥檙e in this together.鈥�

The eighth-grade ambassadors, who welcomed their former elementary school peers to the Kenosha middle school campus, helped make that philosophy a reality 鈥斅燼nd they鈥檙e paying it forward, or backward, as the case may be.

https://www.facebook.com/BullenBobcats/photos/pcb.2087123361352318/2087123324685655/?type=3&theater

Transition coach Diego Hernandez told Kenosha News how jittery he was during his first week of school, until the eighth-graders charged with the duty he has now showed up.

鈥淲hen we met them, they made me feel like I belonged here,鈥� Diego said. 鈥淚 wanted [the new students] to feel comfortable, too.鈥�

Physical education teacher Jackie Meteyard came up with the idea of eighth-grade coaches, and she, along with eighth-grade science teacher Chris Strangberg and eighth-grade special education teacher Brian Schulz, coordinate the training.

These kids take their jobs seriously. Their summer training includes a ropes course.

https://www.facebook.com/BullenBobcats/posts/2032571270140861?__xts__[0]=68.ARDYnOj1pusDpaXxresEBE1_rHVVkUfNUNFM3vSRGcBGx3zzc8b8AHc_-guLrP47EB_VhxQ_O1yX0U7aY8qUjunjdhhr8z4SLskEbCPQwy5b1P5ztnM2mb4AIGr1dHgqWYLXpOIbVtvEQMqNNTRnppXBLFOOx5ha_2rzulB-VChTi3ZsaxWq3g&__tn__=-R

Day one saw the coaches taking sixth-graders on a 90-minute tour of the school and showing them the ins and outs of their new environment. This included practicing opening their lockers.

The No. 1 cause of anxiety in incoming sixth-graders, Jankiewicz said, is remembering their locker numbers.

Jasmine Kray-Weatherford, 11, found transition coaches helpful with that. She had three locker combinations to remember last year, including ones she鈥檇 used for gym and music.

https://www.facebook.com/Kenosha.News/posts/10155985065118020?__xts__[0]=68.ARD3pWEsHTYaRP08Ekb22nzmUOU_xHWWfxFdj0yaFjyZ63eJ2uLhGwg

鈥淢y goal at the end of the day is that they can go home to their loved ones and say, 鈥榊ou know what? Today was a good day and I felt comfortable and I was nurtured,鈥欌�� Jankiewicz said.

These eighth-graders work hard, answering questions, being an older, mentoring shoulder for the newbies to lean on. But in the end, the high fives are for themselves. There鈥檚 a sense of camaraderie you can鈥檛 put a price on.

https://www.facebook.com/BullenBobcats/posts/2044131325651522?__tn__=-R

鈥淲e鈥檙e always doing fun things 鈥� to help them just know how to operate,鈥� Mylee said.

And such kids deserve some fun of their own. Which always includes ice cream. The transition coaches gathered for Culver鈥檚 Night at a popular ice cream parlor and restaurant to celebrate their good work this week, and no doubt continue to brainstorm.

https://www.facebook.com/BullenBobcats/photos/a.923826784348654/2094830377248283/?type=3&theater

The coaches will mentor the sixth-graders throughout the year, but the relationship is already off to a strong start.

鈥淎ctually, I鈥檓 feeling really good,鈥� 11-year-old C.J. Mooney said after his first day at Bullen. 鈥淚t was better than I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be really scary, but it got better.鈥�

https://www.facebook.com/BullenBobcats/photos/pcb.1923935371004452/1923933907671265/?type=3&theater

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 麻豆精品鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.