Bigger Kids Reach Out to Little Ones

Morgan Whirledge needed a way to reach the quiet Spanish-speaking student he had gone to Pacoima Elementary School to tutor. She was so shy, she would not even sit in a chair next to him.

So 17-year-old Morgan started drawing pictures.

“I just started drawing random things, anything I could think of . . . like Antarctica and then some penguins,” he said. “We went all over the world through pictures. We started talking that way.”

Morgan is a junior at Highland Hall School in Northridge, a private school employing the Waldorf philosophy of a developmental, progressive, child-oriented, hands-on approach to learning. Core to its curriculum are the basic subjects, and others such as sewing, knitting and music, and a strong emphasis on community service.

Every other week since September, 25 high school students have been getting aboard vans at their 11-acre hilltop campus and traveling 10 minutes by freeway to Pacoima. Most of the 1,600 students at the elementary school where they lend their services live in two neighboring housing projects.

About 20 children who need help with reading or homework receive the big kids’ attention each week. Pacoima Assistant Principal Sylvia Fajardo said the cultural exchange between the students is what’s most important.

For an hour, the students from Highland Hall help the younger ones with math and reading. In between doing fractions and sounding out words in books, they get to know one another, which helps boost confidence all around.

The visits motivate the younger students, said Roger Avila, another assistant principal at Pacoima.

“[The Highland Hall students] may have never come to this side of town,” Avila said. “Based on the look on their faces, they seem to enjoy it too.”

On a recent afternoon, Morgan scoured Pacoima Elementary School’s library, where the tutoring takes place, for the shy girl he once drew pictures for. She was absent, so he worked with 9-year-old Janet Torres on her multiplication tables. When Janet got especially stumped on her “nines,” Morgan showed her a tried-and-true mathematical trick to help out.

A table away, high school student Leonie Frenkel was busy helping 7-year-old Blanca Ortiz count by 10s. Victor Schimming, 17, was helping 9-year-old Ramiro Favela sound out words from a storybook called “Imogene’s Antlers.” The two read each page twice. What the fourth-grader couldn’t understand, Victor translated in Spanish, one of five languages he knows.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to help other people,” Victor said.

In coming months, drummers from Highland Hall’s band and singers from the choir will perform for the younger students. In the spring, the children will visit the high school campus to see its annual musical. Highland Hall administrators hope to expand the program by bringing more students more frequently and for longer periods of time.

“I want to do more,” Victor said, “but time is always against me.”

KUDOS

Winning writers: Three Lancaster students have won the city’s 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration essay contest. More than 250 essays were submitted. The winning essayists are: Kameo Allen, third grade, Mariposa Elementary School; Carrie Anne Routolo, sixth grade, Piute Middle School; and Marisa Ligons, 11th grade, Antelope Valley Christian High School.

The students were presented with a plaque from the city and read their essays last weekend before a crowd of about 350 at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center.

PROGRAM NOTES

Applications for the 16th Annual Great Race of Agoura to benefit Willow Elementary and Yerba Buena Elementary in Agoura Hills and other Ventura County schools are available at Agoura City Hall.

This year’s four races will be a 2K for children age 7-12, a 2K for families, a 5K and a 10K. All races will be held Feb. 24 at Agoura High School. For more information and other application pickup locations, call (805) 320-0020.

END NOTES

A walk to identify edible wild foods in the woodlands and fields of Soka University in Calabasas will take place Feb. 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. at 26800 W. Mulholland Highway. At the conclusion of the walk, a wild herb “high tea” will be held, including sandwiches filled with wild greens collected on the walk. Reservations are required. Call (818) 878-3763.

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Class Notes appears every Wednesday. Send news about schools to the Valley Edition, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax it to (818) 772-3338.