Special Bonds: ‘Giving Back’ At JWHS

Posted: April 23, 2014

“Wednesday is a fun day around here . . . They get very excited.”

— Debbie Moss, special education teacher, Gainesboro Elementary School

GAINESBORO — Jordan Sowder, resplendent in a shirt and tie befitting his special weekly appointment, looked up at me and said, “I never got a mentor before. I have one now . . . It’s a one opportunity.”

“Once,” said Jacob Mallon, gently nudging his buddy. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

And an “opportunity” made possible through a program known as “James Wood Students Give Back” — which, in this instance, pairs James Wood football players with fifth-graders at Gainesboro Elementary School identified as needing help with academics, behavioral skills, or both.

Every Wednesday afternoon, a ritual that started back in March, seven Colonel gridders don their game jerseys and trek up U.S. 522 North for an hour’s interaction — 45 minutes with the books, 15 outside on the playground — with their young charges.

While Jordan calls this relationship with Jacob “awesome,” the James Wood junior lineman describes the feeling he gets as “indescribable.” After all, he says, it was not very long ago that he, as a Gainesboro student, found himself struggling — with his speech as well as writing assignments. Now, like the rest of his fellow Colonel mentors, he’s a solid A-B student.

“Coming back and helping with these difficulties,” Jacob says, “is indescribable. For me, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

Many hearts and hands have made this “feeling” possible. Two administrators — Kathleen Weiss, principal at Gainesboro, and Mary Jane Spore, assistant principal at James Wood — put the program in motion. They got the requisite clearance from the central office and permission for the James Wood athletes to make the short Wednesday drive to Gainesboro.

Debbie Moss and Jane Tierney, special ed teachers at GES, handle the assignments and give the Colonels their marching orders.

And, last but hardly least, Steve Clark, who coaches the line “atop the ridge” and is a special ed instructional aide at GES, has been the essential go-between. He got the players — Connor Rhodes, Jesus Correa, Devin Moncrief, Nick Manuel, Landon Rutherford, Dustin Feathers, and, of course, Jacob — involved in the outreach.

As Ms. Moss explained, these relationships, wholesome as they are “awesome,” had their genesis when Coach Clark started introducing his Gainesboro kids to his players at James Wood. In no time, the fifth-graders were following their new friends online and in the pages of The Star, and writing them notes of encouragement. A highlight of the fall came when they broke bread with their high-school buddies at a pregame meal.

As I can readily attest, these friendships have staying power. Not only do the Gainesboro kids — Dylan Clarke, Nathan Whitt, Buddy Wilson, Brandon Witkowski, Gage Kesner, Dustin Moore, and Jordan — eagerly await their mentors, but they also attend to business once they arrive.

“We usually have a story which we read and answer questions about,” says Connor, a junior linebacker for whom the trip back to elementary school “brings back good memories” (he attended Apple Pie Ridge).

“Brandon does a good job with it. Sometimes we have to work to stay on task, but once he does that, he does a fine job.”

For the Colonels, their reward is as obvious as their understanding of how critical a role they perform each Wednesday. They’re still young enough to recall how special they felt when a high-school athlete paid attention to them.

“It’s really great to see the kids’ faces and how they look up to us,” says Devin, a junior lineman. “I love helping the kids out and putting a smile on their faces.”