Feature Story Final Draft

DP: Doughnuts & Pop

Every week, sixth graders in District 196 attend a class that no other sixth graders in the state experience. This class is like no other class in the state. The curriculum of this class includes drug prevention, refusal skills, decision-making, and overall life lessons. The curriculum is not what makes this class unique however. What makes this class unique and different from anything else in the state is who teaches the kids. The teachers are not paid or hired by district or school administrators, but rather high school seniors that are chosen through a rigorous process. Laura Appleton, best describes Developmental Psychology (DP), “DP is a program that puts seniors into leadership positions, in which they go to local middle schools and teach the 6th graders drug education. Along with drug education, we also teach about bullying and decision-making. It’s a program that is unique to District 196 and gives seniors the opportunity to be leaders and grow close to people who have many of the same values as themselves.” Interest meetings start right before Christmas of the student’s junior year. After meetings, interested students fill out an application that includes numerous questions and surveys. Then, students must complete two interviews. The first interview is a one-on-one interview with one of the DP teachers. The second interview is more of a discussion with other peers applying for a spot in front of all DP teachers. After completing each step of the process, around forty students out of nearly 80 applicants are chosen to be a member of DP for their senior year.
The first quarter of DP is arguably the most important quarter of the year. The first day of school, eleven to fourteen students walk into the same room and sit in a circle for the first time. Some might know each other; others might have never seen their faces before. Appleton explains how her group has evolved, “I have basically made a whole new circle of best friends. We all help each other through difficult times and in turn grow. I can see us all 30 years in the future still keeping up with each other. It’s just a given at this point.” Either way, these groups of people are really going to get to know each other over the next nine months. Within the first month of quarter one, students focus on creating bonds with each other and becoming a team. They also write up their commitment to each other to stay sober throughout the entire year. The first month is where the group will either succeed or fail. However, most groups create a strong bond in this first month. After that, the focus switches to the sixth graders. The group will take the better part of the next month preparing to teach. Students learn all they can about how to teach, how sixth graders learn, and what makes a good lesson; all leading up to the nerve racking first day. When the eleven to fourteen students walk into class this day, nerves are higher than even the very first day of school. Everyone is quiet, double and sometimes even triple checking their lesson plans and supplies, making sure they did not forget anything. After getting through a shaky first day, the nerves usually evaporate within a couple of weeks and teaching becomes the norm. Michelle Dumonceaux, one of three Developmental Psychology teachers in the building comments on a normal day in DP, “ There really isn’t a normal day of DP. It depends on the time of the year—and the curriculum we’re working on. At the beginning of the year, the focus is on getting to know your fellow group members and preparing yourself for the first weeks of teaching. Later in the year, we fall into a more typical routine of prepping for a day, teaching two days a week, and fitting our senior curriculum into the other available times.”
More and more people are buying into the stereotypical teenager, (disrespectful, rude, etc.) but the members of DP are trying their hardest to crack this generalization everyday. The only way to break this stereotype is by setting a good example and become a positive role model for the young sixth graders. Being a positive role model for these students week in and week out is not as easy as it sounds however. DP member Kayla Hestness explains how hard teaching can be, “Sometimes it gets tiring and you really would just rather skip that day because you just don't feel like putting up with the sixth graders’ attitude. But then you just remember why you're doing it and you just hope that maybe you're changing at least one kid’s decision making down the road.” Hestness is not the only DP member feeling the pressure of teaching. Matt Lilledahl comments on his teaching experience, “Teaching sixth graders each week can be a pretty fun job, but it can be frustrating at times if the students don't cooperate. Overall, it is a really fun experience getting to know the sixth graders and serving as a role model for them.” The role models that the senior’s create do not come without benefits. Dumonceaux, a former DP student herself, comments on the effects this unique course has had on the district, both for sixth graders and the seniors, “The effect over the course of this 30 year program has been significant. For sixth graders, we can trace the instance of drug use and abuse based on the MN Student Survey and note that most sixth graders get their drug information from their senior peer and view chemical use as negative. The most impact that is experienced is by the seniors themselves. Most senior students express that regardless of the type of group or sixth grade teaching experience they had, the experience on the whole of being in DP is insightful, time well spent in their senior year, and often times, creates long-lasting relationships with peers. Many former DP students actually end up in teaching as their career—and many of these teachers actually teach in our district. There is a strong argument, therefore, that DP is also a teaching program that mentors interested seniors into the field of teaching.”
Even though Developmental Psychology has had a major positive effect on District 196, this program is one of many programs that are being cut for the 2010-2011 school year. Dumonceaux explains what those cuts will be, “The DP program will experience about a 28% cut from our overall program, plus we will lose our current coordinator. This will mean that students will only have one hour of DP for the first quarter of the year and then a double hour for the rest of the year. It also means that about three to six Drug Education teaching weeks will be removed from the curriculum.” Over the past thirty years, thousands of seniors throughout the district have come and gone through the Developmental Psychology program. Each member has built and continued a legacy that has changed many young students lives, and put a positive role model into those lives where without them, they might not have anyone to look up to. The budget cuts for next year will deeply change the program from what it stands at today, the challenge will be to keep having a positive effect on the district’s future sixth graders.