Eye-to-Eye: ECU Chapter

1. Eye-to-Eye: ECU Chapter “It starts with a label: Learning Disabled. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Too often, it also ends there. That’s where Project Eye-to-Eye comes in.” (Source: www.projecteyetoeye.org/about/our-story.html) Overview Chapter Timeline: 2012-2013 Summer 2012 Student Chapter Coordinator Lee Olson attends Eye to Eye’s annual training conference at Brown University October 2012 New partnership with Building Hope Community Life Center’s After-School Program finalized Mentors and mentees recruited and selected National office representative visits ECU chapter to conduct mentor training and meet with liaisons from ECU and Building Hope November 2012– Weekly Art Room meetings held at Building Hope April 2013 Community Life Center during spring & fall semesters March 2013 ECU chapter participates in “Strike Out StigMONTH” with activities and events intended to fight stigma and change the way others perceive LD/ADHD labels April 2013 National office representative visits ECU chapter to conduct end-of-year surveys with mentors and mentees to evaluate the program’s impact Wrap-up and “graduation” for 2012-2013 mentees Advance planning begins for 2013-2014 Lee Olson & Emily Bosak named as Student Chapter Coordinators for 2013-2014 Eye-to-Eye is a national mentoring program that helps elementary- and middle-school students with LD/ADHD to build skills that facilitate academic empowerment by pairing them with similarly labeled college-student mentors. The program uses an art-based curriculum that allows mentees to discover their strengths and explore new possibilities in a safe, supportive environment that removes barriers to learning and focuses on assets instead of weaknesses. Under the guidance and role modeling of their mentors, students build self-esteem, increase self-advocacy, develop metacognitive skills, explore learning strategies, and express their emotions and creativity. Highlights from 2012-2013 Think Different Diplomats Eye to Eye’s “Think Different Diplomats” is a speakers board composed of current mentors, recent graduates, and the program’s executive leaders. Diplomats share a message of empowerment and understanding with audiences at schools, universities, and conferences nationwide, with the ultimate goal of changing how society views learning differences one person at a time. As part of “Strike Out StigMONTH,” the ECU chapter of Eye to Eye brought a Think Different Diplomats event to campus. Chelsea Guild, a former student chapter coordinator and current Diplomat, spoke to an enthusiastic audience of prospective teachers and teacher education faculty in April 2013. By sharing her own personal and educational journey, she inspired new perspectives on both the practical and emotional experiences of learning differences, encouraging others to look beyond labels to help every student find and unlock their full potential. Media Coverage The ECU chapter of Eye to Eye gained very positive exposure in the media this spring, with coverage through university and independent news outlets. Reporter Kathryn Kennedy and photographer Cliff Hollis from ECU News Services created a media package that was published on the main page of the university’s website on April 25, 2013 and in the summer edition of EAST Magazine, ECU’s alumni publication. The article, photos, and video capture the overall mission of Eye to Eye by depicting the mentoring dynamic and the mentors’ messages of drawing on their experiences to inspire and guide their mentees. In addition, Greenville’s local newspaper, The Daily Reflector, ran an article about Project STEPP and ECU’s Eye to Eye chapter on the front page of the Sunday edition on April 21, 2013. Focusing on the educational experiences of several mentors, reporter Kim Grizzard and photographer Aileen Devlin conveyed the strong positive impact that mentoring and support programs can have in helping students persist through the challenges associated with learning differences. The chapter’s “community tree” Mission “Eye-to-Eye’s mission is to improve the life of every person with a learning disability. We fulfill our mission by supporting and growing a network of youth mentoring programs run by and for those with learning differences, and by organizing advocates to support the full inclusion of people with learning disabilities (LD) and ADHD in all aspects of society.” (Source: eyetoeyenational.org/about/about.html) Eye-to-Eye’s mentoring model is designed to achieve three objectives: Build self-esteem • Improve self-advocacy • Develop meta-cognitive skills (Source: www.projecteyetoeye.org/about/our-outcomes.html) Celebrating mentee accomplishments at the last Art Room of the year • Selected Art Projects: 2012-2013 • Collaborative creation of an “Art Room Constitution” • Create a “community tree” composed of “individuality leaves” representing each mentee and mentor within the ECU chapter’s Eye-to-Eye community • Mold a small clay pot and decorate it with abstract symbols expressing your feelings about school. • “Spread your wings” by designing a bird, plane, or rocket that trails a list of your accomplishments from its tail end and flies toward a list of your goals attached to its front end. • Invent an “app” for a smartphone or tablet designed to help you address the challenges you encounter in school or daily life • Build a “support nest” including representations of all the people and resources that support you as a student with LD/ADHD • On a life-size tracing on your body, depict yourself accomplishing your short-term and long-term goals, along with the strengths that will help you achieve them. • Art Room AgendaMost of the weekly meetings loosely follow this schedule. • Student Chapter Coordinator introduces and describes this week’s art project to the whole group • The group breaks into mentor-mentee pairs (or small groups) • Creation of the art project, during which the mentor engages the mentee in conversation, always relating topics back to the core skills and issues that Eye-to-Eye addresses • Regrouping, reflection, and discussion; each mentor-mentee pair shares the mentee’s project with the full group • Wrap-up activity Views of a mentee’s “support nest” from the outside (above) and inside (below) Drawing a plan together for the “Spread Your Wings” project Participants and Partners: 2012-2013 Chapter Coordinator • Lee Olson National Eye to Eye Liaison • Katie Long Mentors • Logan Jones, Emily Bosak, Brooke Carter, Jared Goodrum, Matthew Lahey, Ben Marshall, Becca O’Hea, Maddy Owens, Michael Whelan Mentees • 10 fourth- and fifth-grade students with LD &/or ADHD Partner Location • Building Hope Community Life Center Building Hope Liaison • Robert Lee ECU Liaisons • Sarah Williams, Emily Johnson The chapter’s “Art Room Constitution”