We’ve all gone through the struggles of school. The complicated relationships, loaded coursework, and long hours can take a toll on a student’s mental, emotional, and physical health. But these difficulties only exponentially grow when a student doesn’t speak the same language as the majority of their classmates. To combat this, Southwest Local School District has started a new program: Campus Connections.
This new program is bringing together Spanish speaking elementary students with bilingual high schoolers to help elementary fourth and fifth graders to grow in their English and social skills, as well as helping them to have a friend who can communicate with them in their primary language. Growing up around students, teachers, and administrators who don’t speak the same language as you is an extremely difficult situation. Imagine moving to a completely new place, not speaking the primary language used there, and then expecting the student to quickly adapt and still be able to learn.
This program helps to connect students with someone who can speak the same language as them, as well as speaking English. These students learn math and language skills, as well as having someone to just talk to. These bilingual high school students give up their study halls and Edgenuity time to go over to Miami Whitewater and invest their time into these elementary students who need this additional support.
This program has so much potential in helping Spanish speaking elementary students gain confidence and overall abilities in school such as social skills. Speaking about the students in the program, from both the high school and elementary school, assistant principal Lindsey Long said that “they have so much to offer, and giving students the opportunity to show how talented they are is so important.” As a former spanish teacher, she knows what she is talking about. “We strive to build the relationship piece so the students feel comfortable learning.”
Long mentioned wanting to continue to expand the Campus Connections program past just Harrison High School and Miami Whitewater students. Continuing to grow this program and helping connect Spanish speaking students with their older bilingual peers can help instill confidence, as well as help students learn in a new way that makes sure no one is left behind. This program absolutely lives out our school motto of “academic and social growth for ALL students, every day!”
