“There was a little girl that had a French fry pencil sharpener on her desk. When I got to her and asked her what she was going to make, she said she was making an automatic French fry maker,” said Riley Johnson, sophomore at Gorham High School (GHS), describing one of the fantastic inventions discussed by Village Elementary School students when she volunteered recently for the Adopt-A-Classroom program.
“There was also a little boy making a party tank that shot out balloons and streamers. I loved seeing him so excited about his invention,” said Johnson.
Adopt-A-Classroom, now in its second year, connects high school students to classrooms in the Gorham elementary schools with the goal
of starting discussions about future careers.
High school students volunteer for the program and attend a training prior to their first trip to an elementary school. At the training, students are split into groups based on their assigned grade level and practice reading the picture book they’ll later read in the classroom.
Students then travel to an elementary school, currently either Great Falls or Village, to read their picture book to a classroom and engage in an activity with the class that relates to the story. Each book varies by grade level; teachers at the elementary schools specifically selected the books for the Adopt-A-Classroom program and its goals.
Photo credit Grace FlynnGorham High School junior Tyler Rollins volunteered at a Great Falls classroom during an Adopt-A-Classroom visit on February 13.
Planning for the program started in the fall of 2017 according to Gorham High School principal Brian Jandreau. It began with a MELMAC (Maine Educational Loan Marketing Corporation) grant awarded to the high school six years ago and its “whole purpose was looking at increasing aspirations for high school students,” said Jandreau.
The high school used the money to fund college tours and financial aid information nights, however GHS felt it could do more to boost high school students’ aspirations.
Looking for ways to inspire students at much younger ages, GHS started an event four years ago called the senior walk, which takes graduating seniors in their caps and gowns on a celebratory tour of each school in the district. In the years following, the GHS administration and guidance office have worked with the rest of the school district to find new ways to foster ambition in Gorham students.
About two years ago, the Adopt-A-Classroom program was created to help realize this goal. GHS counselors Betsy Anastasoff and Kate Stevens worked with Great Falls principal Becky Fortier to bring the program to Great Falls as a pilot project last year. The program was a big success, with both GHS students and Great Falls students eager to participate again. So far this year, high schoolers have made two trips to Great Falls and one trip to Village School, with at least one more trip for each school planned.
When asked why this program is valuable to Gorham’s school community, Anastasoff said, “Often times adults are talking at kids and they sort of take what we say but they also sort of tune us out. But when they see a really cool high school student come in, they want to be that student.”