Sands Montessori
By Christine Perme

      "I have just completed my second year of mentoring by serving as a tutor at Sands Montessori elementary school. After a few years of volunteering on the parent organization and assisting with fundraising, field trips and grants, it was clear to me that the most pressing need at the school was direct intervention with students.

      My first student, Aaron, was an interesting first. Aaron was a tall, 175 lb. sports oriented 13 year old who had repeatedly been advanced to the next grade, although academics were clearly behind. As he neared the end of 6th grade, his teacher insisted he repeat the 6th grade and somehow got the buy in of his family to hold him back. Aaron, while young and feeling lots of pressure from his peers, realized this teacher really cared about him. A big advantage of the Montessori environment is staying with the same teacher for a 3 year cycle, so Aaron had the advantage of knowing he would remain with the same teacher. With this background, I was asked to work with Aaron on math, although we also worked on language arts and reading as needed.

      From our very first session, Aaron was appreciative, respectful and taught me a lot. We would meet for 1-2 hours per week, and besides working on school work, we found time to talk about current events, sports, and people. Sports, I found was the best ice breaker for us and was one thing we had in common. I also discovered using sports was a way to boost his confidence, as I’d use quarterback passing percentages to help explain percents and the yardage of a football field to learn fractions. It was also a way to get Aaron to follow his dream as he told me early on he wants to play for the NFL. I frequently reminded him that in order to get to the NFL he had to complete 6th grade first!

      One of the most important things I learned from Aaron was the old adage—actions are stronger than words. Sometime early in our relationship we were discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and also the Iraqi insurgency against fellow Muslims. Aaron told me this was just like racism, and then kindly told me I was not racist or I wouldn’t be helping him. I was honored by his statement and was thankful that my desire to help wasn’t seen as patronizing but simply one person wanting to help another. Aaron finished 6th grade with much stronger skills and went on to Clark Montessori where he has another tutor to keep him on track. I saw him one day as I was leaving work and it was great to see him moving on and feeling good about himself.

     The second student I’ve had the privilege to work with is Elijah, a 3rd grader with a twin sister. The twins were born when their mother was 16 years old and the world of school has been a challenge from the start as their mother stopped school to tend to the babies, cutting her own skills short. From the very first meeting Elijah was so grateful and well-mannered, I knew I would look forward to our time together. With his short attention span, we’d generally work only 30-45 minutes per week but the one on one time was very effective. Elijah was in great need of reading and language arts skills, and many weeks we took turns reading or we would work on practice tests for the state tests. I learned that Elijah’s grandparents play a big role in his life but they too are limited in their abilities to assist with school work. They do however, place a great emphasis on school, and are trying so hard to stop the cycle in their family. Elijah will be leaving the comfort of his teacher and classroom he’s known for the past 3 years, as he moves on to the 4th grade entering a new 3 year cycle. His past teacher is recommending that I continue with Elijah and I sincerely hope I can continue our work together. Like Aaron, it may seem I am worlds away from Elijah. But when we are together, we are connected in a very special way.

      I will continue to think of “my students” for a very long time and I am thankful for the opportunity to serve others in this way. Sands Montessori is now located in Mt. Washington but the school quadrant includes the West End, Over the Rhine, Evanston, the East End and Avondale among other neighborhoods. Sands is in constant need of tutors and welcome any interested persons to contact the school at 363-5000. Or contact me, Christine Perme, at cperme@hpcumc.org