March 21, 2024 • 25 mins
Welcome to an episode of Affton Unplugged dedicated to presenting the transformative work of the Mentoring Matters Club at Affton High School. Our guests, Mary Beth Merlo and Gina Stewart, tell their inspirational stories of setting up the initiative, aiming to promote social skills, foster friendships, and create an inclusive atmosphere for all students.
Immerse yourself in a tale of dedication, growth, and triumph as we explore the mentoring program's inception in 2013 and its evolution into approximately 40 students participating on an annual basis. Discover the club's dynamic activities, including Special Olympics participation, pizza parties, field trips, and more, all designed to strengthen peer relationships and enhance the high school experience.
Listen to heartwarming testimonies of students benefiting from conventional games and special outings they may not have experienced otherwise. The Mentoring Matters Club not only adds an enriching dimension to their school lives but also opens doors to pursue careers in education and special education.
Benefit from a wealth of feedback from parents, mentors, students, and staff, underscoring the invaluable contribution the club makes to students' overall happiness and social development. Hear how this has led to the program gaining support and receiving recommendations at Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings.
Join us as we express our heartfelt gratitude for the support provided by the Affton Education Foundation, which has been instrumental in keeping this outstanding initiative thriving. Come, be a part of our journey as we strive to make a difference in the lives of the students at Affton High School.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:20):
Welcome to Afton Unplugged, a podcast by the Afton School District that highlights
the people and stories that make the district great.
I'm your host, Superintendent Travis Brock, and in the Afton School District,
education is the most important thing we do.
Music.
(00:45):
All right, welcome to this episode of the Afton Unplugged podcast,
and today we're going to learn about a program at Afton High School called Mentoring Matters Club,
which focuses on creating new friendships, and we've got two individuals that
have been instrumental with putting that program in place and keeping it running.
We have Mary Beth and Gina.
(01:05):
And so thanks for joining me on the podcast.
And we always like to start out with just getting to know who you are with introductions.
That's part of the purpose of the podcast is getting to know people in the district.
So as you introduce yourself, maybe tell us about your current role in Afton
and how long you've been doing that. If you've had any other jobs,
(01:25):
whether they've been in Afton or maybe they've been outside of Afton,
feel free to tell us about that.
And then certainly if you want to share anything about your family or interests
out of school, we'd like to know that as well.
So without further ado, who wants to go first?
(01:50):
Mary Beth, do you want to go first?
One daughter is due this month in March and another in April.
(02:13):
So it's very exciting times for my family.
We have weddings as well. So it's weddings and babies right now.
I've been with Afton, as I mentioned, for 17 years, and I've been currently
a CBVI teacher for the district.
CBVI stands for Community-Based Vocational Instruction.
(02:34):
So for the first three periods of the day, I take students out in the community,
and we teach them job skills in real places of business.
Our site is currently St. Luke's De Pere Hospital, and we also go to Schnucks.
When I started with Afton, we had only one CBVI program, and we've been able
(02:55):
to expand it now to three teachers, and each has a slightly different program.
So it has been really fun and exciting for me to be able to see its growth and
the impact it's made on our students. I also teach study skills and am a partner
teacher in the English department.
I'm also the work experience coordinator for our department,
(03:18):
so I help facilitate opportunities for our students to prepare for post-secondary
outcomes, either a job or higher education.
And I also play the role of the representative for the Missouri Department of Voc Rehab.
I work to help students with disabilities, 504s or other documented disabilities.
(03:39):
And I also coordinate the Pre-ETS program here at the high school,
which is a program through the state of Missouri, through Missouri University, Columbia.
And so Representative comes in once a month and teaches students about employment.
And we get freshmen through juniors thinking about what they want to do after high school. So...
(04:01):
Play a role in that. And before joining Afton, I taught for special school district
in an elementary school in the Lindbergh School District as a resource teacher.
And I was also a teacher in a self-contained classroom.
I've been a SNAP teacher for special school district. And I really have truly
enjoyed in my teaching career being able to teach all ages over the years.
(04:25):
But I have a special spot for the high school students to help them figure out their next steps.
Really quickly. As I mentioned, I have a big family. We enjoy spending time together.
Everyone usually comes over for Sunday dinner.
I'm like, okay, one of you guys can have it. Yeah. We like to play games.
We all really love soccer and we enjoy rooting on the St. Louis City team. We also love the hill.
(04:51):
I love exercising and I have a new puppy and I love to to read.
And my husband and I enjoy trying new restaurants and I like gardening and just really being outside.
All right. Well, that sounds like, do you have time for anything else?
That's a full day, full week.
All right. How do we get invited to Sunday dinner? It might be quite the time.
(05:16):
Now with all the grandchildren, it's a little crazy. Yeah. Well,
thanks for that. Gina, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Okay. I'm a speech language pathologist at Afton High School.
So I provide speech and language therapy.
I teach classes, and then I also co-teach in the English department.
My main role is improving speech and language in the area of just overall communication,
(05:39):
comprehension, grammar, and social skills for students on all different levels,
trying to prepare them for their life after high school.
I'm also the special education department chair.
So in addition to the traditional roles a department leader would have,
I'm in charge of creating pretty complex plans for all of the district and state
(05:59):
testing to make sure that all of our students' accommodations are met.
I also keep track of, we have a test center here.
And so it's every single day we have, we need that manned and a lot of schedule
changes to make that happen, to make sure that our students have their needs met throughout the day.
(06:21):
And then we have students who need support with extra support through teacher assistance.
So just balancing a lot of schedules and that type of thing to make sure just
basically specifically between teacher meetings, absences, student needs,
that everything's covered.
So I also participate, and Mary Beth does as well, with the area leadership
(06:43):
team for special school district.
I started in Afton the 96-97 school year. At that time, I was split between
Gatch and the high school.
I did that for, I think, three years maybe.
And then I also did a couple of years at Manor.
It kind of phased a little less each year. So one year I was there for maybe
(07:05):
a third of my day providing therapy there.
And then I think my last year there, I would go over and just do testing for
about an hour a day. And then I've been here ever since.
I definitely, like Mary Beth said, I love the high school age.
I have worked, always worked several jobs throughout my career.
So the same year that I went to work for Acton, I accepted a position as a speech
(07:28):
therapist at a habilitation center with adults.
And I'm still working there today. So that's been my entire career. career.
I've also worked in the SNAP program with students that attend private schools.
As far as family, I married my high school sweetheart, and we have three kids
ranging from 19 to 26, two sons and a daughter.
(07:52):
We also have two bonus grandsons.
We were foster parents, and so we have from a previous foster son,
our grandkids that we enjoy spending time with as as well.
We have pets. In fact, we're getting a new puppy next week. In addition,
we already have a dog and two cats.
Interests outside of school include mostly outdoor activities.
(08:15):
I love going to outdoor concerts, walking outside, hiking, traveling, cooking, shopping.
One of my main things that sounds kind of corny, but I love making things special.
So whether it's wrapping presents for somebody in a really special way or planning
fun outings for our department or just fun activities for students or family.
(08:40):
I love just seeing people happy and having fun, kind of whatever.
So that's probably one of my favorite things to do.
All right. Well, thanks for sharing all that with us. Appreciate it.
And now let's talk a little bit about the Mentoring Matters Club,
which is kind of what, you know, attracted my attention.
I know Special School District did a special story on that program on the website.
(09:04):
And certainly, I think most people around the high school knew about the club well before that.
But tell us a little bit about when did the club start and where did you get the idea from?
Okay. Thank you for asking. We started the club in the 2013 school year.
At the time, I was the self-contained teacher and the CBBI teacher.
(09:27):
And Gina, as you know, is the speech-language pathologist.
And both of us noticed that many of our students weren't staying after school
for events, sports, or coming to the dances. Yeah.
And we also noticed they were struggling with forming friendships in social situations.
They were unclear of what to do and they were struggling with communication.
(09:50):
So we wanted our students to be able to work on social skills and language in the natural setting.
And so together we decided to start this club so that we could do something
about this. So we saw a need and we decided to do something about it.
We set out to create a club, really, that encourages socialization with a variety
(10:12):
of students in order to, the purpose is to develop friendships,
promote school spirit for Afton, and we also wanted to create peer relationships
that fostered a spirit of inclusion.
And our main goal was to create the spirit of inclusion throughout the high school. Cool. Okay.
And then, you know, who participates in the club and maybe how many students are involved?
(10:37):
How often do you meet? Tell us a little bit about how you organize the club. club? Okay.
So we have two staff members, Mary Beth and I. We have 38 students currently in the club.
We have students with higher needs and then also students who might be in general
education classes, but really struggle with social skills.
(10:58):
Those are typically our mentees. And then we have student mentors who would
normally either not attend school events,
who maybe are not really involved with any other sports or clubs or just students
that we have identified as being very kind and compassionate that we kind of,
you know, reach out to and encourage to join. Okay.
(11:22):
And then how often do you guys meet?
And maybe what are some examples of activities you do when you do meet?
Okay. We meet about once a month during advisory, after school,
or we have planned field trips.
We've worked with Special Olympics to have our buddies, our mentors and mentees
go together to a bowling tournament.
(11:44):
So we bring our own mentors and mentees from Afton.
We're really excited. We did bowling, and now we're going to be doing a bocce
tournament in the middle of March at the bocce club.
Our activities are usually centered on team building and fostering relationships.
In the past, over the years, we've attended school dances and had like a pizza
(12:06):
pre-party for all the kids to feel comfortable before going into an event. All right.
(12:41):
Cardinal baseball game together. Like I mentioned, Gina and I's focus on the
activities are about building peer relationships for our students.
And we want our students to have like that true high school experience that
everyone deserves and should have and so that they can feel a connection with
each other and a connection with Afton High School.
(13:03):
Gina, is there anything I I missed maybe some activities.
I think the only thing is just sometimes it's not, you know,
big, grand, like, field trips.
Sometimes we just have fun playing good old-fashioned games.
So we might plan, like, if it's an advisory time, like.
Then we might play like minute to win it kind of games and, you know,
(13:24):
they're paired up and working together.
We've had like bingo and even like old fashioned type games on a pretty day.
Go outside and do like hula hoops and musical chairs.
We've had like picnic lunch, you know, things like that.
We also some of the things it's really neat to see are we take we all take for
(13:44):
granted things that we get to do that a lot of these students just never get
to do. So Mary Beth mentioned like a Cardinal game.
The majority of the students that went on that field trip had never been to
a professional Cardinal game.
It was really great to see that. Last year, we do like a big field trip toward
the end of the year to thank, you know, all of our mentors for their time and
(14:06):
everything and just kind of a big celebration of the end of the year.
And last year we took them on a riverboat downtown.
And it was just so many of them had never even been in a canoe or been downtown on the riverfront.
And just to see their faces, you know, the wonder and giddy excitement of just
(14:27):
experiencing community events. Sure.
Well, yeah, that sounds fun.
Thanks for sharing those details. Maybe I'll have to join.
Everyone likes riverboats, right? Yeah.
Obviously, it sounds, you know, especially those things you just mentioned,
(14:49):
those sound really fun and enjoyable.
And so I'm sure you get feedback, whether it's from the students,
their parents, or just other staff members who know what you're doing.
Tell a little bit about that. What kind of feedback do you receive just about
maybe the impact or what people have told you they enjoy about this?
Do you want me to go first? Okay.
We receive a lot of feedback, for sure, from students, parents,
(15:13):
and other staff members. We have...
I just had last week a staff member kind of seek, you know, I keep hearing about
this. What is it and how do I get somebody involved?
You know, this sounds great. I hear students talking about it.
We have students that will continually find us. And when is the next event?
Even when we've just had one. Well, when can we have another one?
(15:34):
We have parents that will tell us, you know, and we'll talk to other staff members
to say they'll talk about the program and just say that they've never they never
see their child happier than the days that we have. The program.
And we actually even had a parent last year email us and say,
you know, he just thanked us up and down and and just said, like,
financially, if you ever need something, I'm willing to help contribute money,
(15:58):
you know, things like that.
So just a lot of kindness. Right.
And to piggyback on that, we had a parent several years ago who felt so compassionate
about it as well and what it had done for her son that some of the students
that we had an after school activity weren't able to stay.
And she asked us for all their names and she contacted those parents and asked if she could.
(16:23):
So she literally drove them all home because she felt so strongly that she wanted
these kids to have the opportunity because it meant so much to her child and their family.
Because that has been a hindrance. It seems like since, you know,
I would say during COVID, Like, we don't have the same support.
(16:43):
We don't have as many parents that are willing to come pick students up after school.
And that's when we've, you know, we're advocating for, could we please meet
somehow during the school day sometimes?
Because otherwise, we just, we used to be able to do like the night football
games and things like that because of these parents that were willing to step up and help others.
(17:04):
And we really have lost with that, you know, so. Yeah.
We're thankful for being able to do some sometimes during the school days, for sure.
Yeah, I think that you bring out an important aspect. Obviously,
you guys do a lot of work of organizing it.
But then, you know, I'm sure you're thankful for just the support of other parents
and other people who want to pitch in, probably because they see the impact of it.
(17:25):
And also at our meetings, at IEP meetings, a parent might express concern about
their child with socialization because it is actually, you know,
one of the most important aspects of your high school experience.
And those teachers will often suggest those students join the Mentoring Matters
Club because it gives them a sense of community, a smaller community within the larger community.
(17:51):
And then it's comforting to be exposed to all the events here when you have
like a little group of people that are also, you know, new to it as well.
(18:13):
For sure.
Now it's...
We don't have to work real hard trying to find. To recruit. Yeah, to recruit.
(18:36):
Yeah. Well, I'm sure the mentors get just as much out of it,
too. Yeah. I'm sure that's impactful for them. It's a win-win, really. Yep.
All right. As I mentioned, I know, you know, you were featured Special School
District on their website last year.
I think about a year ago today, you know, they did a special story.
Any other recognitions that maybe either you guys personally have received or
(18:58):
the program has garnered? Seems like, you know, it gets, you know, it's due attention.
But anything else come to mind that has been maybe special for you guys when
it comes to recognitions?
As far as special, I would say what we were, Mary Beth and I were both truly
honored to be chosen as Afton High School Teacher of the Year.
(19:18):
Yeah. So that was a true honor. We also received an award last year through
Special Olympics for, we were identified as being a unified school because of
the Metri Matters program.
I know Mary Beth also received a SOAR award and a very special award.
I'm going to let her explain. Last year, I received the Missouri Rehabilitation Association Award,
(19:43):
and it's an award they give for helping people with disabilities get a fair
opportunity in the workplace and improving their quality of life.
Right. So that was a neat thing, too.
I didn't know it existed, and it was a neat award. Yeah.
Probably a little bit of a surprise. Yes, it was. Yes.
Well, not surprising that there have been kind of other folks that have recognized
(20:07):
what both of you do, probably connected to this program, but then also other
things you do as well. So thanks for sharing that.
I know this might be the toughest question so far, but do you have a favorite
memory or favorite story that maybe has been part of this Mentoring Matters
Club and would you mind sharing that with us?
Well, I would say I know Gina and myself feel that we've like had a lot of special moments.
(20:33):
And I think almost every time after we have a meeting there,
I could say every time I leave here feeling like just really I had a lot of
heartwarming moments where I saw students interacting that maybe previously
had been very emotional.
You know, introverted and not wanting to talk to other people.
(20:54):
And so we get a lot of excitement each month from our meetings.
And I realize each time that how important this club is in that student's life.
I mean, like Gina mentioned earlier, they literally will ask us when the next meeting is.
And it's so sincere.
(21:14):
So, and I think what's really cool for Gina and I, two of our students in the
past that were mentors to our students have now gone on to pursue careers in education.
Oh, great. And one specifically pursue a career in special ed.
So that's kind of cool that they wanted to pursue a career like that.
(21:36):
Yeah, we need more teachers, right? So this is a great way to specifically folks
that are interested in special education.
So yeah, Yeah, that's great. Gina, how about you?
So I think what stands out to me the most is just seeing, like Mary Beth mentioned,
watching students' growth is amazing to me.
We can work so hard during the school day on what to do in social situations,
(22:01):
but giving them that actual real experience where they can apply those skills
helps with generalization.
And so seeing the growth is incredible to me.
I think overall, just when we can see these students just laugh and have fun.
So many students that maybe don't, you don't see that side in a regular classroom.
(22:25):
You'll see that same student that maybe is very serious and just kind of focused
on the work and not really communicate with peers. And then we have an activity outside.
I was thinking about a picture that we recently took and there have we played
a game with toilet paper and they have it wrapped around their head and they're
just laughing and being kids.
And a lot of them just don't have that opportunity.
(22:46):
One thing that really, another thing, I keep saying another thing,
but one year we had a, it was like an end of the year kind of party.
And we were talking about just like, what was your favorite memory of this year?
What has Mentoring Matters meant to you? And we had kids actually in tears.
And to see how much they were touched, our mentors, I'll never forget that. Yeah.
(23:11):
It's like watching, it's what, it's like watching Watching flowers,
sometimes in the academic setting, they're more closed off and it's really good to see.
All right. Well, thanks for sharing that. And we're going to bring this episode to a close.
(23:32):
Anything else you'd like to mention before we sign off or anything else come to mind? mind?
I did want to mention from on behalf of Gina and myself, we wanted to mention
the unwavering support of the Afton Education Foundation.
They have been tremendous.
They have generously supported our efforts in the club.
When we started the club, we literally provided for everything with our own resources.
(23:59):
And so we started writing grants and they have been And absolutely our biggest supporters.
And so we just want to give a shout out to the Afton Education Foundation.
We couldn't do it without them. We really couldn't. Like literally,
this is an unpaid position.
We volunteer our time. We use most of our money. But with their support is how
(24:22):
we do like the field trips and all of that.
And they're just they've been wonderful. Yeah.
All right. Well, I appreciate you mentioning that. Always, always nice to give
other folks a shout out. that you know are supporting what you do.
And with that, again, thanks for joining me for this episode.
And thanks for what you do outside of this club.
But actually, this club is very special, and I appreciate what you do with it.
(24:44):
Music.
Thanks so much. Thank you.
Thanks for listening to Afton Unplugged, a podcast by the Afton School District
that highlights the people and stories that make the district great.
(25:05):
In the Afton School District, education is the most important thing we do. We'll see you out there.
Music.
Music.
(00:20):
Welcome to Afton Unplugged, a podcast by the Afton School District that highlights
the people and stories that make the district great.
I'm your host, Superintendent Travis Brock, and in the Afton School District,
education is the most important thing we do.
Music.
(00:45):
All right, welcome to this episode of the Afton Unplugged podcast,
and today we're going to learn about a program at Afton High School called Mentoring Matters Club,
which focuses on creating new friendships, and we've got two individuals that
have been instrumental with putting that program in place and keeping it running.
We have Mary Beth and Gina.
(01:05):
And so thanks for joining me on the podcast.
And we always like to start out with just getting to know who you are with introductions.
That's part of the purpose of the podcast is getting to know people in the district.
So as you introduce yourself, maybe tell us about your current role in Afton
and how long you've been doing that. If you've had any other jobs,
(01:25):
whether they've been in Afton or maybe they've been outside of Afton,
feel free to tell us about that.
And then certainly if you want to share anything about your family or interests
out of school, we'd like to know that as well.
So without further ado, who wants to go first?
(01:50):
Mary Beth, do you want to go first?
One daughter is due this month in March and another in April.
(02:13):
So it's very exciting times for my family.
We have weddings as well. So it's weddings and babies right now.
I've been with Afton, as I mentioned, for 17 years, and I've been currently
a CBVI teacher for the district.
CBVI stands for Community-Based Vocational Instruction.
(02:34):
So for the first three periods of the day, I take students out in the community,
and we teach them job skills in real places of business.
Our site is currently St. Luke's De Pere Hospital, and we also go to Schnucks.
When I started with Afton, we had only one CBVI program, and we've been able
(02:55):
to expand it now to three teachers, and each has a slightly different program.
So it has been really fun and exciting for me to be able to see its growth and
the impact it's made on our students. I also teach study skills and am a partner
teacher in the English department.
I'm also the work experience coordinator for our department,
(03:18):
so I help facilitate opportunities for our students to prepare for post-secondary
outcomes, either a job or higher education.
And I also play the role of the representative for the Missouri Department of Voc Rehab.
I work to help students with disabilities, 504s or other documented disabilities.
(03:39):
And I also coordinate the Pre-ETS program here at the high school,
which is a program through the state of Missouri, through Missouri University, Columbia.
And so Representative comes in once a month and teaches students about employment.
And we get freshmen through juniors thinking about what they want to do after high school. So...
(04:01):
Play a role in that. And before joining Afton, I taught for special school district
in an elementary school in the Lindbergh School District as a resource teacher.
And I was also a teacher in a self-contained classroom.
I've been a SNAP teacher for special school district. And I really have truly
enjoyed in my teaching career being able to teach all ages over the years.
(04:25):
But I have a special spot for the high school students to help them figure out their next steps.
Really quickly. As I mentioned, I have a big family. We enjoy spending time together.
Everyone usually comes over for Sunday dinner.
I'm like, okay, one of you guys can have it. Yeah. We like to play games.
We all really love soccer and we enjoy rooting on the St. Louis City team. We also love the hill.
(04:51):
I love exercising and I have a new puppy and I love to to read.
And my husband and I enjoy trying new restaurants and I like gardening and just really being outside.
All right. Well, that sounds like, do you have time for anything else?
That's a full day, full week.
All right. How do we get invited to Sunday dinner? It might be quite the time.
(05:16):
Now with all the grandchildren, it's a little crazy. Yeah. Well,
thanks for that. Gina, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Okay. I'm a speech language pathologist at Afton High School.
So I provide speech and language therapy.
I teach classes, and then I also co-teach in the English department.
My main role is improving speech and language in the area of just overall communication,
(05:39):
comprehension, grammar, and social skills for students on all different levels,
trying to prepare them for their life after high school.
I'm also the special education department chair.
So in addition to the traditional roles a department leader would have,
I'm in charge of creating pretty complex plans for all of the district and state
(05:59):
testing to make sure that all of our students' accommodations are met.
I also keep track of, we have a test center here.
And so it's every single day we have, we need that manned and a lot of schedule
changes to make that happen, to make sure that our students have their needs met throughout the day.
(06:21):
And then we have students who need support with extra support through teacher assistance.
So just balancing a lot of schedules and that type of thing to make sure just
basically specifically between teacher meetings, absences, student needs,
that everything's covered.
So I also participate, and Mary Beth does as well, with the area leadership
(06:43):
team for special school district.
I started in Afton the 96-97 school year. At that time, I was split between
Gatch and the high school.
I did that for, I think, three years maybe.
And then I also did a couple of years at Manor.
It kind of phased a little less each year. So one year I was there for maybe
(07:05):
a third of my day providing therapy there.
And then I think my last year there, I would go over and just do testing for
about an hour a day. And then I've been here ever since.
I definitely, like Mary Beth said, I love the high school age.
I have worked, always worked several jobs throughout my career.
So the same year that I went to work for Acton, I accepted a position as a speech
(07:28):
therapist at a habilitation center with adults.
And I'm still working there today. So that's been my entire career. career.
I've also worked in the SNAP program with students that attend private schools.
As far as family, I married my high school sweetheart, and we have three kids
ranging from 19 to 26, two sons and a daughter.
(07:52):
We also have two bonus grandsons.
We were foster parents, and so we have from a previous foster son,
our grandkids that we enjoy spending time with as as well.
We have pets. In fact, we're getting a new puppy next week. In addition,
we already have a dog and two cats.
Interests outside of school include mostly outdoor activities.
(08:15):
I love going to outdoor concerts, walking outside, hiking, traveling, cooking, shopping.
One of my main things that sounds kind of corny, but I love making things special.
So whether it's wrapping presents for somebody in a really special way or planning
fun outings for our department or just fun activities for students or family.
(08:40):
I love just seeing people happy and having fun, kind of whatever.
So that's probably one of my favorite things to do.
All right. Well, thanks for sharing all that with us. Appreciate it.
And now let's talk a little bit about the Mentoring Matters Club,
which is kind of what, you know, attracted my attention.
I know Special School District did a special story on that program on the website.
(09:04):
And certainly, I think most people around the high school knew about the club well before that.
But tell us a little bit about when did the club start and where did you get the idea from?
Okay. Thank you for asking. We started the club in the 2013 school year.
At the time, I was the self-contained teacher and the CBBI teacher.
(09:27):
And Gina, as you know, is the speech-language pathologist.
And both of us noticed that many of our students weren't staying after school
for events, sports, or coming to the dances. Yeah.
And we also noticed they were struggling with forming friendships in social situations.
They were unclear of what to do and they were struggling with communication.
(09:50):
So we wanted our students to be able to work on social skills and language in the natural setting.
And so together we decided to start this club so that we could do something
about this. So we saw a need and we decided to do something about it.
We set out to create a club, really, that encourages socialization with a variety
(10:12):
of students in order to, the purpose is to develop friendships,
promote school spirit for Afton, and we also wanted to create peer relationships
that fostered a spirit of inclusion.
And our main goal was to create the spirit of inclusion throughout the high school. Cool. Okay.
And then, you know, who participates in the club and maybe how many students are involved?
(10:37):
How often do you meet? Tell us a little bit about how you organize the club. club? Okay.
So we have two staff members, Mary Beth and I. We have 38 students currently in the club.
We have students with higher needs and then also students who might be in general
education classes, but really struggle with social skills.
(10:58):
Those are typically our mentees. And then we have student mentors who would
normally either not attend school events,
who maybe are not really involved with any other sports or clubs or just students
that we have identified as being very kind and compassionate that we kind of,
you know, reach out to and encourage to join. Okay.
(11:22):
And then how often do you guys meet?
And maybe what are some examples of activities you do when you do meet?
Okay. We meet about once a month during advisory, after school,
or we have planned field trips.
We've worked with Special Olympics to have our buddies, our mentors and mentees
go together to a bowling tournament.
(11:44):
So we bring our own mentors and mentees from Afton.
We're really excited. We did bowling, and now we're going to be doing a bocce
tournament in the middle of March at the bocce club.
Our activities are usually centered on team building and fostering relationships.
In the past, over the years, we've attended school dances and had like a pizza
(12:06):
pre-party for all the kids to feel comfortable before going into an event. All right.
(12:41):
Cardinal baseball game together. Like I mentioned, Gina and I's focus on the
activities are about building peer relationships for our students.
And we want our students to have like that true high school experience that
everyone deserves and should have and so that they can feel a connection with
each other and a connection with Afton High School.
(13:03):
Gina, is there anything I I missed maybe some activities.
I think the only thing is just sometimes it's not, you know,
big, grand, like, field trips.
Sometimes we just have fun playing good old-fashioned games.
So we might plan, like, if it's an advisory time, like.
Then we might play like minute to win it kind of games and, you know,
(13:24):
they're paired up and working together.
We've had like bingo and even like old fashioned type games on a pretty day.
Go outside and do like hula hoops and musical chairs.
We've had like picnic lunch, you know, things like that.
We also some of the things it's really neat to see are we take we all take for
(13:44):
granted things that we get to do that a lot of these students just never get
to do. So Mary Beth mentioned like a Cardinal game.
The majority of the students that went on that field trip had never been to
a professional Cardinal game.
It was really great to see that. Last year, we do like a big field trip toward
the end of the year to thank, you know, all of our mentors for their time and
(14:06):
everything and just kind of a big celebration of the end of the year.
And last year we took them on a riverboat downtown.
And it was just so many of them had never even been in a canoe or been downtown on the riverfront.
And just to see their faces, you know, the wonder and giddy excitement of just
(14:27):
experiencing community events. Sure.
Well, yeah, that sounds fun.
Thanks for sharing those details. Maybe I'll have to join.
Everyone likes riverboats, right? Yeah.
Obviously, it sounds, you know, especially those things you just mentioned,
(14:49):
those sound really fun and enjoyable.
And so I'm sure you get feedback, whether it's from the students,
their parents, or just other staff members who know what you're doing.
Tell a little bit about that. What kind of feedback do you receive just about
maybe the impact or what people have told you they enjoy about this?
Do you want me to go first? Okay.
We receive a lot of feedback, for sure, from students, parents,
(15:13):
and other staff members. We have...
I just had last week a staff member kind of seek, you know, I keep hearing about
this. What is it and how do I get somebody involved?
You know, this sounds great. I hear students talking about it.
We have students that will continually find us. And when is the next event?
Even when we've just had one. Well, when can we have another one?
(15:34):
We have parents that will tell us, you know, and we'll talk to other staff members
to say they'll talk about the program and just say that they've never they never
see their child happier than the days that we have. The program.
And we actually even had a parent last year email us and say,
you know, he just thanked us up and down and and just said, like,
financially, if you ever need something, I'm willing to help contribute money,
(15:58):
you know, things like that.
So just a lot of kindness. Right.
And to piggyback on that, we had a parent several years ago who felt so compassionate
about it as well and what it had done for her son that some of the students
that we had an after school activity weren't able to stay.
And she asked us for all their names and she contacted those parents and asked if she could.
(16:23):
So she literally drove them all home because she felt so strongly that she wanted
these kids to have the opportunity because it meant so much to her child and their family.
Because that has been a hindrance. It seems like since, you know,
I would say during COVID, Like, we don't have the same support.
(16:43):
We don't have as many parents that are willing to come pick students up after school.
And that's when we've, you know, we're advocating for, could we please meet
somehow during the school day sometimes?
Because otherwise, we just, we used to be able to do like the night football
games and things like that because of these parents that were willing to step up and help others.
(17:04):
And we really have lost with that, you know, so. Yeah.
We're thankful for being able to do some sometimes during the school days, for sure.
Yeah, I think that you bring out an important aspect. Obviously,
you guys do a lot of work of organizing it.
But then, you know, I'm sure you're thankful for just the support of other parents
and other people who want to pitch in, probably because they see the impact of it.
(17:25):
And also at our meetings, at IEP meetings, a parent might express concern about
their child with socialization because it is actually, you know,
one of the most important aspects of your high school experience.
And those teachers will often suggest those students join the Mentoring Matters
Club because it gives them a sense of community, a smaller community within the larger community.
(17:51):
And then it's comforting to be exposed to all the events here when you have
like a little group of people that are also, you know, new to it as well.
(18:13):
For sure.
Now it's...
We don't have to work real hard trying to find. To recruit. Yeah, to recruit.
(18:36):
Yeah. Well, I'm sure the mentors get just as much out of it,
too. Yeah. I'm sure that's impactful for them. It's a win-win, really. Yep.
All right. As I mentioned, I know, you know, you were featured Special School
District on their website last year.
I think about a year ago today, you know, they did a special story.
Any other recognitions that maybe either you guys personally have received or
(18:58):
the program has garnered? Seems like, you know, it gets, you know, it's due attention.
But anything else come to mind that has been maybe special for you guys when
it comes to recognitions?
As far as special, I would say what we were, Mary Beth and I were both truly
honored to be chosen as Afton High School Teacher of the Year.
(19:18):
Yeah. So that was a true honor. We also received an award last year through
Special Olympics for, we were identified as being a unified school because of
the Metri Matters program.
I know Mary Beth also received a SOAR award and a very special award.
I'm going to let her explain. Last year, I received the Missouri Rehabilitation Association Award,
(19:43):
and it's an award they give for helping people with disabilities get a fair
opportunity in the workplace and improving their quality of life.
Right. So that was a neat thing, too.
I didn't know it existed, and it was a neat award. Yeah.
Probably a little bit of a surprise. Yes, it was. Yes.
Well, not surprising that there have been kind of other folks that have recognized
(20:07):
what both of you do, probably connected to this program, but then also other
things you do as well. So thanks for sharing that.
I know this might be the toughest question so far, but do you have a favorite
memory or favorite story that maybe has been part of this Mentoring Matters
Club and would you mind sharing that with us?
Well, I would say I know Gina and myself feel that we've like had a lot of special moments.
(20:33):
And I think almost every time after we have a meeting there,
I could say every time I leave here feeling like just really I had a lot of
heartwarming moments where I saw students interacting that maybe previously
had been very emotional.
You know, introverted and not wanting to talk to other people.
(20:54):
And so we get a lot of excitement each month from our meetings.
And I realize each time that how important this club is in that student's life.
I mean, like Gina mentioned earlier, they literally will ask us when the next meeting is.
And it's so sincere.
(21:14):
So, and I think what's really cool for Gina and I, two of our students in the
past that were mentors to our students have now gone on to pursue careers in education.
Oh, great. And one specifically pursue a career in special ed.
So that's kind of cool that they wanted to pursue a career like that.
(21:36):
Yeah, we need more teachers, right? So this is a great way to specifically folks
that are interested in special education.
So yeah, Yeah, that's great. Gina, how about you?
So I think what stands out to me the most is just seeing, like Mary Beth mentioned,
watching students' growth is amazing to me.
We can work so hard during the school day on what to do in social situations,
(22:01):
but giving them that actual real experience where they can apply those skills
helps with generalization.
And so seeing the growth is incredible to me.
I think overall, just when we can see these students just laugh and have fun.
So many students that maybe don't, you don't see that side in a regular classroom.
(22:25):
You'll see that same student that maybe is very serious and just kind of focused
on the work and not really communicate with peers. And then we have an activity outside.
I was thinking about a picture that we recently took and there have we played
a game with toilet paper and they have it wrapped around their head and they're
just laughing and being kids.
And a lot of them just don't have that opportunity.
(22:46):
One thing that really, another thing, I keep saying another thing,
but one year we had a, it was like an end of the year kind of party.
And we were talking about just like, what was your favorite memory of this year?
What has Mentoring Matters meant to you? And we had kids actually in tears.
And to see how much they were touched, our mentors, I'll never forget that. Yeah.
(23:11):
It's like watching, it's what, it's like watching Watching flowers,
sometimes in the academic setting, they're more closed off and it's really good to see.
All right. Well, thanks for sharing that. And we're going to bring this episode to a close.
(23:32):
Anything else you'd like to mention before we sign off or anything else come to mind? mind?
I did want to mention from on behalf of Gina and myself, we wanted to mention
the unwavering support of the Afton Education Foundation.
They have been tremendous.
They have generously supported our efforts in the club.
When we started the club, we literally provided for everything with our own resources.
(23:59):
And so we started writing grants and they have been And absolutely our biggest supporters.
And so we just want to give a shout out to the Afton Education Foundation.
We couldn't do it without them. We really couldn't. Like literally,
this is an unpaid position.
We volunteer our time. We use most of our money. But with their support is how
(24:22):
we do like the field trips and all of that.
And they're just they've been wonderful. Yeah.
All right. Well, I appreciate you mentioning that. Always, always nice to give
other folks a shout out. that you know are supporting what you do.
And with that, again, thanks for joining me for this episode.
And thanks for what you do outside of this club.
But actually, this club is very special, and I appreciate what you do with it.
(24:44):
Music.
Thanks so much. Thank you.
Thanks for listening to Afton Unplugged, a podcast by the Afton School District
that highlights the people and stories that make the district great.
(25:05):
In the Afton School District, education is the most important thing we do. We'll see you out there.
Music.
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