The idea of starting a high school club began last year when Lyla Baker volunteered to tutor through Study Friends, a program offered by Integrated Community to support emerging bilingual, elementary-aged students with classes in Steamboat Springs.
"My idea was to start a club at the high school," Baker said. "The club would basically find volunteers and give them resources and connect the high schoolers with Integrated Community. The club would also bring more attention to the program so that it is more widely known to elementary and middle schoolers in case they wanted to use that as a resource."
Baker worked on getting the club up and running last summer, collaborating with the Steamboat School District and Integrated Community. She also brought in fellow students Stella Crofts, a junior, and Palmer Thompson-LeMay, a senior, to be co-presidents of the club.
The group held their first meeting in September and currently includes 11 high school students, many of them already matched with a bilingual elementary student. The program pairs a high school student or adult with an elementary-aged student to help them with English, and as well as reading, writing and mathematics.
"We have a lot of interest from emerging bilingual kids and teachers who specialize in emerging bilingual students in both elementary middle schools," Baker said.
Janette Najera, education coordinator for Integrated Community, said Study Friends has been around for at least five years, but that the new high school club has brought new energy and interest. She said the club has encouraged students to volunteer filling the demand from bilingual students -- many of them on a waitlist to get a tutor.
"We do have some people still on the waitlist, but that number has reduced, which is pretty good," Najera said. "Now with the teachers in the schools collaborating, we're getting more referrals, so we're kind of trying to do an expansion of the program where maybe for those that need academic support, we can do groups instead of individual, and maybe focus our language learning part as individuals instead of as groups, because each kid learns differently."
Once the high school tutors have gone through some training, they will meet with the bilingual student once a week for an hour at Integrated Community. Integrated Community decides that time based on what works for both the tutor and the student. Najera said there is always a need for new tutors.
Adults interested in helping with the program can call or text Najera at 970-819-1898 or call Integrated Community at 970-871-4599. Students interested in joining the Study Friends Club can reach out to Baker on email at [email protected]
"It's great because high schoolers help younger kids who are coming up through the same school system that they went through," Baker said. "It just seems like a full circle moment."