brings reading lessons
to Freehold Head Start
Eisenhower program
brings reading lessons
to Freehold Head Start
By linda denicola
Staff Writer
In a program that brings students from the Eisenhower Middle School, Freehold Township, to Freehold Borough to read to preschool pupils, Samantha Tramontano, 13, shares a book with Emily Briguez, 3, while Ruthie Flores, 3, looks on.
Most small children love to be read to, and the preschoolers at the Monmouth County Head Start program in Freehold Borough are typical, even though most are bilingual, and English is not their first language.
Although words are not universal, pictures are and the eighth-grade students from the Eisenhower Middle School in Freehold Township are learning how that works. They are part of a unique collaboration with the Monmouth County Head Start, Freehold Center where they read to and interact with the 66 preschool children on a one-on-one basis. They not only read to the mostly non-English speaking children, they also teach them a craft.
The collaboration is the brainchild of eighth grade teacher Helen Schwerin, who developed the program and applied for and was awarded a grant from the Coalition for Service Learning. The private coalition gets donations and distributes the money to different schools so that teachers can implement service learning projects, Schwerin said.
She explained that the grant pays for busing the students from the Eisenhower Middle School on Burlington Road in the township to the Head Start school in the First Presbyterian Church on Main Street in the borough. Last year when Schwerin began the program, it was just her class involved, but this year there are three eighth-grade teachers involved, with each class going once a month.
PHOTOS BY FARRAH MAFFAI Bryan Wilson, 13, an Eisenhower Middle School student in Freehold Township, reads to Odalis Dominguez at the Head Start program in Freehold Borough.
"The goal," she said, "is for the students to get some real life knowledge. When our students read a children’s book to the preschoolers, they see that reading is a valuable activity."
Schwerin said it is heartwarming because her students see themselves differently because of the hands-on experience.
"They get a taste of having to deal with little kids who won’t sit still, won’t listen. They are learning about what it’s like to be a teacher, and they are learning about different cultures, and what it is to be at a disadvantage in a community," she said. "They also see little children getting excited about little things. They are learning real deep-down values, not just how smart they are."
Although many of the Head Start children are bilingual, the eighth-graders read a story to them from books that they have picked out themselves, like The Grouchy Ladybug or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They also develop some kind of craft to go along with story, like making brown paper bag puppets."
Vincent Gagliardi, 4, is all smiles as he shares a book with a visitor from the Eisenhower Middle School at the Head Start program in Freehold Borough.
Schwerin said there is a lot of preparation necessary for the class.
"The eighth-grade students read and analyze the book for plot development and things like that. They also create a model for the craft that they plan on teaching to the younger children, so they can copy. One recent project was making snowflakes. Next they will be making Valentines," she said.
The last time Schwerin went to the Head Start school, she took one of the Eisenhower Spanish teachers.
"She (the Spanish teacher) had her Spanish class translate some of the picture books into Spanish. You could see the light go on for the kids, and the Eisenhower children got to practice their Spanish vocabulary and pronunciation," Schwerin said, adding, "The kids are enthusiastic no matter what we do."
Lisa Menzel, head teacher at the Head Start school, agreed.
"The kids love it. At first they were a little intimated because they’re not used to strangers. These eighth-graders are big kids to them. We had some kids that were afraid. This is their first experience with an educational program."
There were two little girls who were shy, but since the same middle school pupils stay with the same children, they got used to each other, she explained. The older children get to know what works best with each child. Most of the time it is one-on-one, but occasionally one eighth-grader will have two Head Start children to work with.
Menzel said she has two children, including one in the sixth grade at the Eisenhower Middle School, and she can’t wait for her child to be in the program.
"These kids are very good with our children. I know a lot of the Eisenhower kids, and I know how hard they worked to pull this program together," she said. "Although (the Head Start group) is a very diverse group, they are primarily Spanish speaking. With a lot of our kids, English is a big thing. For the most part, they know very little English. They loved having the Spanish students come in. You see the lights go on for them."
According to Menzel, Head Start is a federally funded program that offers a variety of services and includes the whole family.
"There is a nurse who makes sure they have all of their shots, a nutritionist, a dentist, and besides teachers, we also have mental-health consultants," she said. "We have an English as a Second Language class here. The Monmouth County Voca-tional Center’s Early Education class comes in to help out."
Menzel noted that Head Start is a preschool, not a child care center. The children are served breakfast and lunch and are given a chance to get used to what school is like. But, according to Menzel, there is not enough space for everyone.
"Right now there are 87 children on a waiting list to get in, and applications come in daily. Thirty-nine will graduate so there are only 39 open spaces this year. We need additional facilities in Freehold," she said.
Menzel is grateful for the support of the Eisenhower Middle School youngsters.
"We are sharing literacy between eighth-graders and preschoolers. It’s a wonderful little program," she said.