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STAR House helps students shine
Partnership with The Cottage School bridges tutors with Hispanic children
The first thing you notice when you enter the Mimosa Elementary School cafeteria in Roswell on a Thursday afternoon is the low-level hum of activity. Backpacks and books are open, pencils are grasped and heads are bent together as 50 Hispanic students solve math problems, practice reading, recite spelling words and draw, with the help of older students from The Cottage School.
If productivity had a sound, it would be this steady buzz of learning and give-and-take in two languages.
The Thursday sessions are the result of a partnership between STAR House -- an after-school tutoring service for Hispanic students -- and The Cottage School, an innovative private middle and high school with a proven track record for teaching kids with mild to moderate learning disorders or social issues.
STAR House is a nonprofit organization with a mission of helping at-risk children develop the skills they need to succeed in school and life. Founded in 1993, it has grown from assisting 12 children to running after-school programs for about 160 students at Mimosa Elementary, Elkins Point Middle and Holcomb Bridge Middle schools.
"The at-risk population in this area has grown to be predominantly Hispanic. Their parents are working and may not speak English, so [many parents] can't help [children] with their studies, but they want their kids to do well," said Michelle Newton, executive director of STAR House. "We provide elementary students with a home away from home, a nutritious snack and activities that emphasize literacy and academics."
During the three-hour after-school sessions, STAR House supplements the learning that students are doing in their regular classrooms every day.
"In the classroom, a teacher has 30 students and doesn't have the time to spend with every child to make sure he understands," said Noura Abdi-Tabari, assistant director of STAR House. "We can make sure they understand and form a connection that makes them feel comfortable bringing up problems.
"It's a long day for young kids. They've been here since 7 a.m., and by late afternoon, sometimes, they just need a hug."
They get that and more from STAR House. Because elementary homework usually doesn't take three hours, STAR House volunteers use art projects to teach children to focus, take responsibility and finish what they start.
In middle schools, the STAR House program offers a safe place for students to form bonds with some of their teachers, who also serve as after-school program academic coaches.
"Students get targeted for gang activity as young as fourth and fifth grade," Newton said. "When the pressure starts, we hope to give them the tools and confidence [they need] to avoid making bad choices."
STAR House normally works with adult volunteers, but last year The Cottage School made the organization an offer it couldn't refuse. As a community outreach project, the school offered to bring eight students and staff chaperones to Mimosa Elementary School once a week to help with tutoring.
Dramatic turnarounds in grades, attitudes and goals are not unusual at The Cottage School, but counselor Lanie Cox still was surprised by the students' enthusiasm for the project.
"I was floored and -- considering their full schedules -- thrilled that so many students showed up at our first meeting," she said. Cox set up a rotation schedule so that everyone could participate. Most students tutor once a month.
She's watched her students, many of whom have struggled academically themselves, blossom as tutors.
"When our kids leave, they are feeling so good about themselves. I don't know who gets more out of it," Cox said.
McKinsey Love, an eighth-grader at The Cottage School, had a hard time in elementary school. But the after-school program gave her assistance, and she wants to return the favor.
"The bigger kids in the program helped me," she said. "Now, helping other little kids with their homework is really fun."
Freshman Scott Bagwill, who was helping Mimosa fourth-grader Oscar Cruz with reading and multiplication tables, said that being in an elementary school cafeteria brought back memories of his own days in an after-school program.
"I love being able to give something back, and these kids are so nice," Scott said.
Junior Meghan Tamer, who plans to become an emergency room pediatrician, said that she's learning patience.
"It teaches you to sit and listen, and I love working with kids," she said.
Seventh-grader Kelsey Biernath realizes that she has advantages and wants to pass them on to others.
"Just having these kids look up to me is a great honor. They've also taught me a little Spanish," she said.
Because of social and language barriers, students in the STAR House program aren't always accepted by their peers at school, Abdi-Tabari said.
"Having the older kids interact with them as friends really helps their self-esteem," she said. "[The tutors] are giving them much more than help with spelling."
Having older students tutor younger ones has brought a new element to the program, Newton said.
"There's camaraderie, and we're seeing lessons learned on both sides that you won't find in the textbooks," Newton said.
