From left, Franklin Community Middle School eighth graders Aubrey Smith, Parker Kantz and Isaac Thompson study in the school’s library in 2022. Daily Journal File Photo
An hour a week can change a child’s life.
With the start of the school year approaching, Franklin Education Connection is seeking volunteers for its Study Connection Program which serves Franklin Community Schools students in grades 1-8. The program, which started in 2005 as a collaboration between educational organizations, has 75 study buddies who donate more than 3,000 hours of homework help each year, according to their website.
Sitting down with a student for an hour each week can make a difference in their life, whether it be helping a student pass a spelling test or helping to set up a science project. A caring adult in a student’s community can serve as an important role model, said Melissa Parramore, executive director of the Franklin Education Connection.
However, their volunteer numbers have dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the program had 82 study buddies.
“We were well over 100 study buddies before the pandemic,” Parramore said. “We gradually keep raising that number of buddies each year, but we dipped all the way down to like 65 after the pandemic, and each year we’ve increased, made increases, but we’ve never gotten back up to the level of 100 or more. And so that is our goal this year.”
The biggest incentive to be a mentor is giving back to the community. For Robin Betts, a study buddy and director of community and public relations for Franklin schools, she said it has been rewarding to see her study buddy grow more self-assured and involved as time went on.
“She has always been a very driven student. But I actually started with my study buddy when she was in first grade. And this was when the program was not new, but definitely new to me,” Betts said. “… But to kind of watch her over the years as she gathers more and more tools, just her level of confidence, her level of involvement in tons of different student activities, she really got up the courage to put herself out there.”
Programs like Study Connection can introduce people to different experiences and occupations. Students can see a different world or way of living outside of their own, Betts said.
“It introduces them to maybe a different world outside of their family home, which I think is really cool,” Betts said. “Especially the kids, they get to travel to different businesses, being able to go to the police station and see them in a positive light, and seeing where they go to work every day, visiting our senior communities.”
Study buddies can form a relationship that lasts a lifetime. When it first started, study buddies only helped students until they graduated to middle school. Harry Westcott, who passed away in 2015, was an active member of the program and was instrumental in the program’s change to include middle school students — following his own study buddy along for the ride. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still found a way to be involved in this student’s life, Parramore said.
Now that student has found a career that is right for them, and Education Connection has dedicated a “Volunteer of the Year” award in his name, Parramore said.
“He finally found this niche and what he loves to do, and every time I see him, they’re telling me how much our program impacted him,” she said. “He might not have graduated high school without his study buddy.”
Programs like Study Connection can also help parents who may be working multiple jobs and do not have extra time to work with their children on their homework — enabling these students to get a little extra academic help and a new friend in their corner, Parramore said.
“Most people really enjoy it because it’s so rewarding,” Parramore said. “To be able to do something for somebody else. Even though the amount of time your volunteering is small, the impact is enormous and you can really change the trajectory of a student’s life to become academically successful just by having that one person, that one extra person in their life to give some extra support, both academically and socially.”
For those looking to volunteer to become a study buddy, the application is available online at franklineducationconnection.org/study-buddy.
To be considered, applicants must have a valid Indiana driver’s license or identification card, be at least two years free of alcohol abuse/dependency, have not used illegal drugs or controlled substances within the last two years, not have a criminal record involving harm to others and undergo a limited criminal history, sex offender and driving record check.
After an individual has been accepted as a study buddy, the required training is Sept. 9 from 3-4 p.m. at Northwood Elementary School.
The first day of the program for this upcoming school year will be Sept. 12.
