Ignites a passion to read, write and rock
Supporting her students in fighting for better opportunities for themselves and their community
Ignites a passion to read, write and rock
Supporting her students in fighting for better opportunities for themselves and their community
“Seeing their happiness in their own success—that’s my favorite”
When guidance counselor Briana Helm took over the WE student service club at J. Christian Bollwage Finance Academy high school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, she was determined to help students figure out what issues they wanted to tackle. At first, they were tentative—many are first-generation Americans whose parents work two or three jobs, and they weren’t used to assuming leadership roles. But when Helm helped them focus on literacy, they soared. With many in their community struggling to learn English, it was an issue they all value. Her students lit up with enthusiasm as they worked through logistics and their plans came together. From creating an ABC book focused on healthy eating for Elizabeth’s pre-kindergarten centers, to organizing a literacy lock-in event to celebrate reading, her students took charge and impressed others. They finished their year as role models that other students look up to.
It’s hard to convince 130 kids to stay late at school—harder still to get them to stay overnight. But guidance counselor Briana Helm at J. Christian Bollwage Finance Academy high school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, discovered that when she handed her students the reins for organizing a literacy lock-in event to celebrate reading, nothing could hold them back.
Elizabeth is a majority-Hispanic community with high dropout rates and low education levels compared to state and national averages. When Helm’s senior students asked her to head their WE service club at the beginning of the year, she knew it was a chance to support her students in fighting for better opportunities for themselves and their community. Helm has made a career out of finding a way to support every student who walks through her door and helping her community overcome its challenges.
“I really find a passion working with the kids and the area,” says Helm. “A lot of our parents are working two and three jobs to put food on the table. A lot of our students are first generation and just getting here and learning the ropes. I see myself as a conduit to help bridge that gap.”
At the beginning of the year, she asked her students what issues they wanted to take action on. Their answers showed an abundance of enthusiasm—but perhaps a lack of direction. Helm helped the club channel their passion about issues such as literacy and nutrition into a tangible action: writing, illustrating and designing an ABC book focused on healthy eating that they could distribute to Elizabeth’s pre-kindergarten centers.
To raise money for printing copies in both English and Spanish for the Hispanic members of their community, they invited classmates to a school literacy lock-in—an overnight carnival of book-themed activities to celebrate reading.
Helm saw her students light up with enthusiasm as they worked through the logistics and saw their plans come together. “Seeing their happiness in their own success—that’s my favorite,” says Helm.
The night of the lock-in, 130 participants turned out—almost half the school’s population. Students decorated the gym with colorful balloons and decorations in homage to Reading Rainbow and Doctor Seuss. Teams in matching T-shirts participated in activities like reading groups and scavenger hunts with literacy facts. Even Elizabeth’s mayor, J. Christian Bollwage, came out to read from his favorite book: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.
“It was just a really fun, positive night,” says Helm. “A lot of our kids are out in the streets in our community. This was a night we knew our kids were safe and doing something good.”
The students collected $1,882 in admission entries to produce their book, Let’s Eat with the A B C’s, which they plan on donating to local pre-K centers. The WE club leaders are even discussing coming back after graduation to continue distributing copies.
For Helm, their commitment to the project is humbling, but what she feels is even more powerful is the way younger students look up to the WE club leaders and want to follow in their footsteps. With a new year of WE club actions to come, Helm may have her work cut out for her. She plans to keep supporting her students in pursuing their dreams. “We have some truly amazing kids who deserve the same things as kids in any other community in America,” says Helm. “If there’s not someone like me around advocating, then who will there be?”
Walgreens knows that at the heart of every community are our unsung heroes—teachers. That’s why they’ve partnered with WE to develop a program that provides free tools and resources to teachers nationwide to help them address the changing needs of their classrooms, like funding and addressing critical social issues.
