A peer support program at NEISD’s Hardy Oak Elementary gained national acclaim for being named a Team of the Year Finalist by the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC). The Student 2 Student, or S2S program was established in 2004 to connect civilian students with new military students as part of an onboarding process to make the transition between schools easier. These students provide the arrivals with a friendly face, answers to questions, and generally help them assimilate.
For context, this student-led, faculty-advised program recommends that S2S members should provide every new student with a tour, someone to eat lunch with, resources, activities, and encouragement. These measures help military students build peer groups and perform better in school by uniting them with their new community.
Back at Hardy Oak, S2S members are eager to be of service. Fifth-grade S2S member, Jeia Kattapuran, says that she loves “helping others and showing them around and making new friends.”
For more on S2S: https://www.militarychild.org/programs/student-2-student
Sources: NEISD Facebook
Blog By: Tatum Owens, Intern, UT Austin
