Exploring a New Peer Buddies Program at Jungman Elementary School

When you hear the acronym “PB&J,” your mind might think about lunchtime, but, at Jungman Elementary STEM Magnet School, it refers to “Peer Buddies at Jungman.” This is a new program designed to pair up the school’s special education and general education students to build relationships and strengthen its culture overall. 

We checked in with Mrs. Heidi Schubert-Alonso and Ms. Theresa Powers, the two teachers behind this awesome new program, to learn more about how it came to be and how it’s been going so far. Read what they had to say below.

Why did you want to create a program like this? 

It became our brainchild last school year. We are cluster teachers, so our students are self-contained, but they are with their general education peers during specials classes as well as lunch and recess. We wanted to foster relationships in those structured spaces in a more intentional way. We also think the pandemic led students to forget how to connect with each other and understand their differences. There is a lot of research that shows that programs like this one help everyone become more accepting and can even develop leadership skills. 

How has the program been going so far? 

We’re just getting started, but we have gotten a ton of responses from students who are interested in participating, which is really exciting. We decided to start with middle school first and then move on to our younger grades. We’re aiming to be very intentional about matching students based on shared interests. 

We also want this to be a safe space for our general education students to learn about some of the behaviors they might see. And, also, we want our colleagues to be on board too and have open spaces to discuss how to best support our students as well. 

What are some of your goals for the rest of the year? 

We are meeting about once a month, and we already have students coming up to us to ask when the next meeting is, which is a great sign. Our vision is to create a regular schedule of monthly events and then also have an end-of-year celebration for everyone who participated. 

We are really excited for this to be a space for our students to develop their social skills and make friends. There is a yearning for connection that this program can help with. 

What advice would you give to another school that wants to launch a similar program? 

A smart first step is to work with your school administration. They were helpful in creating a structure that helped our idea come to life. They reminded us that it makes more sense to work through other adults in the building rather than going straight to the students directly. They have been really supportive and have helped us reach the students. 

What is your message to your students who are participating in the program? 

Take care of each other and be kind to one another!