Volunteers help Oster School get into the team spirit
See a photo gallery
Wearing a vibrant purple T-shirt and wide smile, 9-year-old Jennifer raised a basketball overhead, took aim, and lobbed the sphere at a plastic basket hovering above the Oster School blacktop.
Jennifer's fellow students enrolled in the Santa Clara County Office of Education program for students with hearing impairments broke out into a roar and a round of high-fives. Their cheers and applause were echoed by two groups of special visitors, who were paying their weekly visit to the San Jose elementary school.
"I like when the big girls come here," Jennifer said using sign language. "They're fun. They're exciting."
The big girls are, respectively, members of the San Jose State University women's soccer team, and volunteers from the Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative, or BAWSI, a local nonprofit that promotes female athleticism.
Through a serendipitous collaboration, the two groups spend about an hour a week teaching the students sports and games, as well as broader life skills, said Oster School Principal Ginny Maiwald.
The six-week program launched this spring after Ginny heard that BAWSI's services were available to schools, and took quick action. Meantime, her daughter Meghan got her SJSU soccer teammates involved. The two groups' involvement dovetails perfectly.
"BAWSI supports special needs kids and support athleticism and vitality, and they also depend on volunteers," Ginny said.
About 60 children from kindergarten through grade five participate in the Friday morning sessions. Groups rotate through stations that showcase different games and activities, including one that focuses on a discussion about life skills.
One spring morning, a group shot baskets and another practiced soccer dribbling. On another part of campus, some children learned about self-confidence, and another group played a tag game.
The children interact with the BAWSI Rollers, the organization's branch that works with children with disabilities and special needs, says Sharon Clark Kelleher, director of the Rollers.
"We give kids, who might not have had the chance otherwise, the experience of being a part of a team and what it feels like to work together," she said.
Sharon said communicating with students who are hearing impaired presents some challenges, but the spirit of athleticism transcends language barriers.
"We work to communicate with them, but somehow it all works out," she said.
Some SJSU athletes communicate with the students using sign language, which they learned from the students or teammate Meghan – Ginny's daughter, who as a youth also went through the COE's program for students with hearing impairments.
Interaction with college students also shows the children that higher learning is a possibility for students of all abilities, Ginny said.
And the program's benefits extend beyond the students of Oster, said Jeff Leightman, coach of the SJSU women's soccer team.
"It's just as rewarding for our players as it is for these kids," he said. "The kids are awesome. It's a big responsibility on our part to give back to the community. Our players have to know how lucky they are. They are all role models to the community."
Indeed, the volunteer work was especially meaningful to defense player Angela Santoro. A graduate of Leigh High School, home to a COE program for teenage students with hearing impairments, Angela has a finer understanding of students with special needs.
"This has been incredible," she said. "Children with special needs are no different than us."
The six-week long program recently wrapped up, but Ginny hopes to continue it year-round next school year, given its success.
"I had no idea how it would take off," she said.
Date last updated: May 3, 2010