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Tuesday April 27, 2010 Edition
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Golden Rule Finds A Home In A VUHS Program

VUHS DUO program creator and mentor Dennis West translates the Golden Rule into practice.
photo provided
VUHS DUO program creator and mentor Dennis West translates the Golden Rule into practice.
Jen volunteering as a reading tutor
at FCS.
photo provided
Jen volunteering as a reading tutor at FCS.
Monique, a Baker’s Assistant at the Ferrisburgh Bakery.
photo provided
Monique, a Baker’s Assistant at the Ferrisburgh Bakery.

Tuesday April 27, 2010

By Cookie Steponaitis

    Most all of us know the golden rule. As a young child we were taught to read and recite the powerful message of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Even kindergarteners are taught to treat others with respect and to reach out to those in need. It is more than just a yardstick to live by and the golden rule is a strong underpinning of the educational system in a free democracy. One of the charges of schools and communities is to teach the next generation to how to reach out, become involved and make a difference because they can. At VUHS, one of the charges in the mission statement of the school is to foster “responsible citizens and community members.” While just a child’s rhyme to many, “do unto others” has found a permanent place in the curriculum and the culture of VUHS.

    When Dennis West took over the community outreach curriculum at VUHS in 2005, the school already had a strong School to Work program that placed over 100 students each semester in community businesses to learn work habits and business practices that would make them successful in the field of work. Dennis identified a real interest and need for community service based learning and created the DUO program. Standing for “Do Unto Others” the program has grown and diversified to the point that most VUHS students experience DUO in their high school careers. “DUO was added to the VUHS course selection guide in the fall of 2005,” Mr. West shared. “I started working with students in the middle school in the fall of 2003 by volunteering over at the Vergennes Area Senior Center (which was at the Eagles Club); the volunteers would set tables, play games, do crafts and serve lunch to this group. The closest for volunteer work in the high school at that time was a Big Brother/Sister program. Students were looking to do more. So I developed a Do Unto Others (DUO) program open to all high school students. Over the years the program has been tweaked and modified, so that now we offer credit to students that volunteer during school, after school and as well with prior approval over the summer.”

    Students are placed in such diverse situations as Fletcher Allen and Middlebury hospitals, RETN TV station in Shelburne, Ringers Nursing Home, Vergennes Residential Care, VARS, FCS, VUES, VUHS, Vergennes Animal Hospital, Comfort Hill, City of Vergennes, Denecker Chevrolet, Strong House Inn, Black Sheep, 3 Squares, and Middlebury College. Mr. West was quick to point out that the possibilities are endless. Currently seventy students each semester participate in the program and share their experiences with their peers and others in the form of presentations, thank you letters and journals.

     With an eye on the future Dennis West mentioned not only the reasons for the current success of the program, but also what was possible for plans in coming years. “I would like to say it is because of the relationship that I have with students,” remarked Mr. West, “but it is because we have great kids at VUHS and we have great community support for students to be able to choose work/volunteer sites. They want to share what they are good at with other and that always want to learn. STW gives students a chance to explore a possible career before they head off to college and spend big bucks and find out what they thought they liked may not be they really like.”

    VUHS senior Jeremy Delisle worked at Vergennes Elementary School both in his
ninth and tenth grade years in the DUO program as an assistant to kindergarten teacher Mrs. Donna Ebel. Jeremy felt that he learned a lot about what being a teacher of young children means. Jeremy worked with after school coordinator Jill Strube in a second DUO experience and did data entry for the attendance and different programs offered at school. “Both experiences gave me a real world look,” commented Jeremy Delisle. “I wasn’t just there doing a task. I was really learning skills that will carry with me outside of VUHS, but it was fun to help out. You get a good feeling from being of help to others. It is great because it lets you help others out and the students need to see the helping modeled by older students. In the case of the data entry, I was helping out because it freed Ms. Strube to concentrate on the children and not the record keeping. I think DUO should be required for all students at VUHS because the learning is powerful and multi-leveled.”
VUHS Senior Tristan Bushey not only helped but rolled up his sleeves and got into the business of producing hand made chocolate during his DUO experience at Daily Chocolate. “The owners were really nice and allowed me to be a part of all of the parts of the business. It was a lot of fun and I looked forward to it everyday. DUO was a powerful opportunity and I think all students should know about the program and be open to taking the chance to go out and be a part of your community in some level.”

    In addition to the students, Mr. West is quick to credit the open and working relationship that VUHS has with the community as the backbone of the program. “We are fortunate to have some many close sites for students to go and shadow, apprentice and volunteer. It always seem that when I talk to students they all would like to be able to stay longer at there sites.”

    DUO is the age old proverb translated into reality for hundreds each year. A link between community, commitment and learning the habit of community service, the Valley Voice salutes Dennis West, his vision and all those who go out of the school building offering their time, their hands and their willingness to be a part of the fabric of life in Addison County.

 


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