By Kim Hilsenbeck.
April DeCesare of Buda is a buddy. She would like to see more area residents become buddies, too.
At Buda Elementary School, that is.
DeCesare is a member of the group Buda Buddies. The program pairs a student with a mentor who comes in, at minimum, once a week for 30 minutes during non-instructional time, such as lunch or recess.
Buddies help students in several ways, DeCesare said. For her and her charge, Dynasti, a fourth grader, the relationship is all about talking, or for DeCesare, listening.
| Buda Buddy April DeCesare, right, spends 30 minutes a week mentoring Dynasti, a fourth-grader. DeCesare mentors her by talking, reading and sometimes helping with math. But the program, she said, is whatever the student wants it to be. School officials say more Buda Buddies are needed. (Photo by Kim Hilsenbeck) |
“But it’s whatever the student wants it to be,” she said.
Buddies can help with schoolwork, offer advice or just be there to listen to a student who needs someone to talk with someone outside of their family or home life.
This mother of two sons, one at the elementary school, the other at Dahlstrom Middle School, said she started last year because she had the time. She thought, “This is my opportunity, this is something that I think I need to do.”
Dynasti, a shy, soft-spoken girl, said school is better now that she has a mentor.
Why?
“You get to talk,” she said. “They help you with your problems.”
When asked what buddies do, she said, “They help you. They’re kind.”
She continued, “Sometimes I would be disappointed and she would help me get through that.”
Dynasti and DeCesare said they talk about school and other topics.
“We just talk without pressure or judgment. We talk about what’s going on, or if she’s struggling with school. She loves to read,” DeCesare said, looking at Dynasti.
“I don’t ever try to poke and probe. What I’ve learned from her is to be a better listener,” she said. “Just stop and listen to what they have to say. You learn a lot more.”
DeCesare said she also reached out to a few moms she knew to become buddies.
“Thirty minutes a week is really all that’s asked of you. If you don’t work a 40-hour week, it’s easier. I reached out to moms who I knew had time,” she said.
All mentors through Hays CISD go through a security background check. And parents of students who sign up for a mentor must sign a permission slip.
Dynasti said her family is okay with her having a buddy.
When asked what she thinks is important about the mentor relationship, Dynasti said, “Everything.”
