Summer school by choice?

This summer has sped by. What a wonderful time to reset, recharge, and refocus.

I worked ESY (Extended School Year) this summer with my kids who needed extra support to not lose the skills gained this past school year.

It's always a struggle to set up a realistic feel to summer school since there are no other students in the building, and the only staff is an occasional secretary and the wandering custodian. It's a challenge when working on social skills....when there is no one to be social with. I've taught ESY for many years and it always makes me feel lonely and secluded, I can only imagine what my students must have felt.

But this year was different.

Every single day of ESY we had Peer Mentors show up to the classroom to work with my students. Some days we had more peer mentors than students. Was this required….nope. Did they get credit…nope. So why did my peer mentors feel such a draw to come to school during their summer break?

When asked, their overwhelming answer was “because I missed the kids.”

These teenagers choose to come to school..…in the summer…..on 90 degree days …..to work with my students, because they are their friends.

They were there waiting by the door every single day with smiles plastered across their faces. So ESY really was like school this summer. My kids did their work and got to hang out with their friends. None of us felt alone or different and we had a wonderful time learning.

When looking at the picture above, can you tell which kids are from my classroom and which are Peer Mentors? Me either.

This is just another reason why a Peer Mentor program is a must in every school!

So “Happy End of Summer” and good luck for the start to the next amazing year of building independence and increasing academic growth in every single student.