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Stonehurst Hills Elementary highlights Bilingual Buddies program to support newcomer students
Summary
Stonehurst Hills Elementary presented its Bilingual Buddies and Multilingual Mentors programs, where higher‑proficiency third‑ to fifth‑grade students pair with English‑learner newcomers for language practice, orientation, and peer mentoring.
Stonehurst Hills Elementary Principal Desmond Chisholm presented the school’s Bilingual Buddies program to the Upper Darby School District board, saying the student‑led effort pairs higher‑proficiency third, fourth and fifth graders with newcomer students to build English language skills and social connections.
Chisholm said the program began as a way to give students additional opportunities to practice academic and social English and has since grown into a broader set of supports. “Bilingual buddies is a group of third, fourth, and fifth grade students who have a little bit higher of an English level of proficiency,” Chisholm said. He credited bilingual staff and the English Learner team with expanding the program into welcome walks, announcement translation, and weekly mentoring.
Nut graf: The program uses peer mentoring and small group activities to accelerate language acquisition for English Learners while offering leadership and confidence building for older students. Stonehurst staff described three core elements: targeted practice sessions on early dismissal Wednesdays, “welcome walks” that orient newly arrived students to the building, and afternoon announcements translated into Spanish by student buddies.
Program details presented to the board included custom, need‑based activities (letter recognition and name practice in early phases; subject vocabulary as students progress), a lanyard system that identifies buddies during welcome walks, and the creation of a follow‑on group called Multilingual Math Mentors that meets weekly to support math skills in kindergarten and early grades.
Teachers and administrators said the program also has boosted confidence among older students and improved newcomer students’ participation in general education activities. Chisholm noted staff check in periodically with mentors and supply refreshed resources when needed. A video shown to the board and brief student remarks illustrated classroom activities and described the social aspects of the program.
Ending: Stonehurst invited board members to a student thank‑you breakfast on May 22 and provided lanyards to the board as tokens of appreciation for district support. No board action was requested during the presentation.
