The Rice Memorial High School Cafeteria is usually bustling with the noise of high school students waiting in line to get lunch, sitting at tables eating their lunch, or chatting away with friends. On this Saturday morning, it was filled with a few energetic 2-7 year olds, their parents, and twelve Rice students. The young kids were participating in the Young Athlete Program through Vermont Special Olympics.
When a lot of high school students were probably sleeping in, twelve Rice Students showed up at their school to work with the Young Athlete Program. Caitlin Jenkins from Vermont Special Olympics organizes the YAP program and coordinates with Rice to find mentors to help out. I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down and talk to Paul Difalco, a math teacher at Rice, who gave his Saturday morning up to come and unlock the doors and monitor the students as they organized and ran the program. According to Difalco, Rice Memorial High School requires students to volunteer their time in the community to help make a difference. As a freshman entering Rice, you need to volunteer eight hours in the community. More hours are required as you progress through the high school. It is generally up to the students to find somewhere they can volunteer. However, the Campus Ministry does offer some assistance.
As I have previously mentioned, working with special needs children not only requires compassion, but also can require a ton of patience. At this young age, all children generally have difficulty sitting still and following directions. However, it can be even more difficult for a group of special needs children to sit still and follow directions. Some kids are skittish when they are in a larger group. Some kids are still learning the skill of sitting in a circle. Other kids have limited communication skills. And some kids just can’t sit for very long.
This was Kayla’s third time doing the YAP program. She has enjoyed the various activities that they offer and the students that run the program. When we show up, there are usually only 2 other young kids. Kayla is usually reluctant to join the group, but after some coaxing by a student she eventually joins and participates in the obstacle course. A little while later she is running around playing tag and sweating up a storm.
Although the ratio of students to kids was 4/1, the Rice students were all amazing. All of the students engaged with the three children, were very flexible, and actually participated in activities. To see high school students going through an obstacle course, using the parachute, and making a tunnel for the kids to go through, was enlightening. Not only was I smiling, but all three kids showed a lot of excitement. I hope to recruit a few more little kids for next week so they can enjoy playing games with some incredible Rice students!