Young students have older ‘buddies’ at St. Vincent’s School
By Sara Weikel - The Valley Journals (February 2008)

What gives a small child the confidence to perform in front of a packed house? What gives an older child a sense of responsibility and belonging so strong as to nearly eliminate behavior problems? The answer: each other.

That is the philosophy and result of the Buddy Mentoring program at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School. For the third consecutive year, the first and eighth-graders have spent the year paired up as “buddies.”

“They can do anything as long as they have their buddy next to them,” said first-grade teacher Jeanne Pence.

The Buddy Mentoring program was started by Pence and eighth-grade teacher Kathleen O’Melia with the intent to “foster community and responsibility” among the students, said St. Vincent’s board member Graham Ferree in an article he wrote for the board.

The program has done just that. The first and eighth-graders performed an opera written for them side-by-side for St. Patrick’s Day last school year. While many first-graders would have panicked in front of a crowd the size of the one that packed the school gymnasium that day, not one of them did because they had their eighth-grade buddies close by, said Pence. The first grade All Saints Day performance on Nov. 1 yielded the same result, even though the eighth-graders were only standing with their small buddies that time, not actually performing with them, she said.

It’s not these special events that make the mentoring program work, however – it’s the day-to-day ordinary interaction the buddies have with each other, Pence said. The buddies go to Mass with each other every day, learn to read music together and greet each other in the halls between classes. This daily contact shows the first-graders that someone cares about them and gives them confidence because they know they have a friend, she said.

“It’s empowered these first-graders to overcome fear,” Pence said.

As for the eighth-graders, having younger children look up to them significantly changes their approach to decision-making, said O’Melia. After becoming involved in the Buddy program, the eighth-graders started making decisions based on the needs of their first-graders, not just on whether an action would get them in trouble or not. All O’Melia has to do now when one of her eighth-graders starts to act up is ask them, “Should your first-grader be doing that?” and the misbehavior stops, she said.

“One of the biggest things about being a teenager is finding your place,” said O’Melia. Another way the buddy program has helped improve the older kids’ behavior is by giving them someone to impress besides each other. This effectively removes one of the biggest reasons they have to act foolishly, she said.

“It humbles our eighth-graders a little bit to be role models,” said Carol Barman, St. Vincent’s development director.

There is also no bullying that she knows of, said Pence.

The first and eighth grade buddies have done many projects together, including charity fundraisers and visits to senior homes. On Jan. 7, they performed at the rededication of the Utah Capitol building. This past year, the Buddy Mentoring Program has been expanded to include Kindergarten and fifth grade and second and seventh.