This month, Miller Middle School entered its second year of operating the Where Everyone Belongs Leadership Program, a peer mentorship program where seasoned eighth graders become tour guides, friends, honorary older siblings and knowledgeable anchors for sixth graders just entering middle school.
There are 27 eighth grade Where Everyone Belongs – or “WEB” – leaders this year. Their primary job? Making sure their younger sixth grade peers feel welcome, comfortable and accepted at Miller, whether through playing games with them at orientation, offering them a seat at lunch or giving them a wave in the hallway when everything feels new and overwhelming.
WEB leaders go through adult-led training over the summer, learning how to best support their younger peers once the school year begins.
“Sixth graders need to have someone they can trust who’s older than them because not everyone wants to talk to an adult,” said 13-year-old WEB leader Liv Candelaria. “Just having someone wave at you in the hallway makes you feel like you belong. I remember when an eighth-grader waved at me. I thought, ‘Wow, I think I’m cool!’”
WEB leaders also attended sixth grade orientation this year to meet and connect with their younger peers. The eighth grade leaders led the sixth graders in games, gave them a tour of the school and helped them feel welcome at Miller Middle School before the first bell rang.
“Our goal during orientation was to get (sixth graders) excited about school, and take away their nervousness, introduce them to the teachers, make them feel like they’re really cool for being in sixth grade; and that they shouldn’t be scared because there’s so many people here who have gone through the same thing,” said eighth-grade WEB leader Skylar Carr.
“We know how they feel, and we’re here to help,” she said. “So when you get here, it’s not a bunch of strangers, but a community and a family that you’ve built before.”
Miller Middle School’s enrollment saw a 16% increase between this year and last year at the same time. Durango School District spokeswoman Karla Sluis said school leaders credit this in part to the conception of programs like WEB.
Alanda Martin, WEB adviser and counselor at Miller Middle School, said the administrative team and the counseling department at Miller created Where Everyone Belongs as an opportunity for students to take ownership of fostering a positive and inclusive school environment for everyone.
“WEB seemed like a great fit for us, as it is student leader-driven and also aligns with the Link Crew model (a high school counterpart to WEB) at Durango High School,” she said. “(Our WEB leaders) work hard to make all students feel welcomed and supported at school. Along with our student council, we are working hard to provide a fun, supportive learning environment.”
The WEB leaders remember what it was like to be nervous sixth graders themselves, trying to navigate an unfamiliar middle school structure, new classmates, new teachers and what felt like an impossibly large and labyrinthine new building, and want to help the sixth graders of today feel supported in those feelings.
“(I thought) ‘Oh my gosh … the eighth graders are so tall. The seventh graders look kind of mean. I have no friends. What am I doing?'” said Candelaria of her sixth grade experience. “And so I took a breath, and I remembered that I knew one eighth grader, and I feel like that really helped me. Now the sixth graders know nearly 30 of us, and I think that really helps them.”
“When I was in sixth grade I felt really lost, like no one really knew me, or I couldn't talk to anybody,” said 13-year-old WEB leader Zada Bialek. “So, helping sixth-graders not feel like that is really nice.”
According to the eighth grade leaders, the program benefits them as well as their younger peers by helping them build leadership skills and growing their social circles.
“I became a WEB leader because I really like involving myself in the school and the community,” said Carr. “Durango’s a small town, and wherever you go, you see a familiar face. WEB gives us the chance to really know people, not just pass them in the hallway.”
“Being a WEB leader builds my skills in leadership and communication,” echoed eighth grader Scarlett Pacheco. “I like helping people who are younger than me.”
The Where Everyone Belongs program is not only beneficial to the eighth grade mentors and the sixth grade mentees, said the middle school leaders – it can also be a helpful model of inclusion and kindness for teachers and grown ups to follow.
“The best teachers learn as much from students as we do from them,” said Carr. “We are the next generation, and soon we're going to be able to make those big decisions. Adults and kids need to listen to each other – we both have experiences the other hasn’t (had).”
“If people are getting bullied because they don't fit in, the adults can help change that by allowing differences,” said 13-year-old WEB leader Sage Newcomer-Ball.
Full video interview via Durango School District
To view the full video interview with the five Where Everyone Belongs leaders featured in this article, with questions from The Durango Herald and Durango School District Spokeswoman Karla Sluis, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44PTZoZg8t8.
“Everyone at one point in their life is going to feel like they don't belong, (and) in middle school we have a lot of drama,” Candelaria said. “Adults need to be more stable for us – everyone makes mistakes, but they can learn from this and include everybody.”
Miller Middle School Principal Vernadette Norman said she’s looking forward to the future of the Where Everyone Belongs Leadership Program.
“WEB has been a wonderful success and addition to our community,” Norman said. “It provides valuable mentorship opportunities, and we're excited to build on it in the years ahead.”
epond@durangoherald.com
