Each week, a highschool Bulldog Mentor and their elementary school buddy meet in the Fox Lake District Library to help the elementary student in their classes by reading to them and spending time on homework.

The Bulldog Buddy Program is a partnership between Grant Community Highschool and the Fox Lake Library that pairs participating highschool students with elementary students grades Kindergarten through 6th grade and spend 45 minutes together every week. The highschooler reads to their buddy for 30 minutes and then can continue reading, help with homework or play games for the remaining 15 minutes. 

“The program helps to foster positive relationships between our highschool students and our elementary students,” says Mr. Woodzien, the Grant teacher who helps to promote the program throughout the school. 

The program also helps highschool students get service hours, and lets aspiring teachers work with children in their spare time. Several students also participate because they enjoy working with the kids and love building relationships with them. 

The Bulldog Buddy Program helps to foster relationships between the highschool and elementary students in our community while simultaneously helping all students benefit from an enriching literary experience. If you can’t participate in the program, you can always do it the following year, and the Bulldog Buddy Program is always looking for new Bulldog Buddies!

FAST FACTS:

• 45 minute meetings once a week.
• A highschool student is paired with an elementary student in the community.
• Begins on September 16th and continues for 10 weeks. 
• The meetings are “one-on-one”, which means no cellphone use or friends can be involved in any of your sessions.