Kent City — In the bright April sunshine, Patty Morales ran round and round on the Kent City Elementary playground, spinning kids on a tire swing until they shrieked. When the swing reached maximum height, she stepped back and brushed hair out of her eyes, grinning as she watched the students pump the swing back and forth.
“In kindergarten I was always the one pushing others on the tire swing, and now here I am again,” Patty, a junior at Kent City High School, told a visitor. “I haven’t been out on the playground in such a long time, so now being out here, it’s like nostalgia.”
Patty and 11 other juniors and seniors at the high school are volunteering this spring as “recess mentors” for the fourth-grade recess periods at Kent City Elementary.
Every Thursday, a small group of mentors comes down to spend recess with the fourth-graders; their goals are to foster positive peer interactions, promote good sportsmanship and safety, model respect, help with following directions and generally set a good example for behavior.
“With this specific grade, we noticed that they were just struggling with interactions and sportsmanship (during recess), and we really felt they would just thrive with some more peer interactions from older kids,” said KCE behavior coordinator Michael Pavona, who collaborated with principals at both schools to launch the recess mentors.
“High-schoolers are like rock stars to (fourth-graders), so they can say something and it’s going to be easier received. The message sinks in a lot deeper. They’re modeling real-life social skills, right in the moment.”
Dressed in their yellow safety vests, the recess mentors are up for anything when they visit: playing a game of pickup basketball, taking a trip down the slide with their young friends, pushing kids on the swings or joining in a game of soccer. They give abundant high-fives and offer compliments when they notice a fourth-grader modeling good behavior, such as putting a ball back at the end of break.
The high-schoolers also assist KCE staff with recess transitions, helping students line up after break and listen for directions to be ready for lunch or the classroom.
For junior Aaron Vanderwest, the responsibility of being a role model comes with a healthy dose of fun.
“I know that kids look up to us and I always want to remember that, wherever I go, whatever I do; I also really just enjoy being with them,” he said. “Especially the ones that don’t seem to have as many friends. When we hop in there and ask if they want to play a game, they seem to really enjoy that — just to see them smile just really lights my day up.”
The feeling is mutual, according to fourth-grader Peyton Schmid, who said he looks forward to the days when the recess mentors join them out on the playground.
“I think they’re good because if you’re sitting alone they will offer to play with you, or if you need help with something they’ll help you with it,” Peyton said of the high-schoolers. “This one time I was just standing alone in a corner and one of them came up to me and asked if I wanted to play a game with them.
“I thought it was really nice and it made me feel really happy, because that shows that I’m not alone.”
More Fun, Fewer Issues
Aaron said he could relate to some of the behaviors that he witnessed from the fourth-graders when they first started working together.
“I remember back when I was in (elementary) school, I had trouble getting along with some kids, and so now it’s good that we can help with that,” Aaron said. “I think we just kind of help keep tensions low. It seems like every time we come that they definitely settle down a bit more and they get straight.”
Patty agreed, noting a visible change in the fourth-graders over the past few months.
“They were really rowdy in the beginning — like, it was kind of crazy,” she said. “They’re a bit more peaceful now.
“I was worried that they might not like me, but they go along with anything and they’re really open to talking to me,” Patty added. “I didn’t think they would look up to high-schoolers as much as they do, which is really cool.”
These experiences with improved behavior are more than just anecdotal. Pavona said school leaders have also noticed a decrease in behavioral referrals and recess incidents since the recess mentors started working with the fourth-graders.
“We’re not saying it’s perfect now, but I think we’d say it’s definitely having an impact,” he said. “With us being a small district, it’s been a great way to bring the student community together and learn from each other. Those multi-age friendships, working together to achieve common goals, it makes such a difference and it’s all going really well.”
Pavona said he plans to bring back the recess mentors next year and is hoping to expand the partnership to more grades at KCE.
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