Link Crew is building bridges

A peer leadership program at Vermilion High School is breaking through in its innovative model in helping incoming students feel more at home.

Link Crew, a nationally recognized program backed by curriculum-based research through the Boomerang Project, operates on the model that students help students succeed and improving the socio-economic climate in a time where bullying, mental health awareness and school security is on the minds of districts around the country.

Vermilion social studies teacher Christine Reynolds and guidance counselor Cara Habermehl have spearheaded the program integrating it into the school’s curriculum through the peer leadership class taught by Reynolds.

The program has been a part of the school since around 2006 and was added to the peer leadership class in 2013.

“Link Crew is normally an extra-curricular at a lot of schools... but the kids that are involved in stuff are involved in everything,” Reynolds said.

The program begins with a full-day freshman orientation in addition to a series of social and academic follow-ups building on the creativity of Link leaders and empowering them to help create bridges and more kinder, welcoming environment, with trickle-out effects on the entire student body.

“I think the focus really turns it to a culture,” Habermehl said.

“It’s a culture. We are listening to what juniors and seniors want to do to change the culture of our school.

“And the whole program, the premise behind Link Crew is that it is a culture of welcoming these students in and making them feel that this is a place we want you to be instead of that traditional high school, ‘well, it stinks to be a freshmen’ kind of thing and figure

“The unique thing about this program to me and the reason why I fought to keep it going for so long ia because it really touches every student. Every student and some point in time goes through this program.”

it through.”

From tailgating before football games to study help accompanied by hot cocoa, the Link Crew is bringing diverse groups of students together and adding it to the school’s curriculum was a game changer in getting to interact with Link leaders on a daily basis.

“The nice thing, too, ... is with Link Crew you don’t want the same kid. You don’t want all of your honor students,” Reynolds said.

“You don’t want all of your band kids. It is meant to be a mixture of students.”

“So, if you look at my classes, you have athletes, you have band kids, you have honors kids and you have kids that aren’t involved in anything.”

Habermehl agreed, saying in integrating diversity into the peer leadership team, it provides a platform for the younger students to feel like they can relate and be ready to ask for help or guidance.

“You want an eighthgrader to come into that orientation and say, ‘oh my god, I relate to that kid. There is somebody in this high school that I can make a connection to,’” she said.

“The unique thing about this program to me and the reason why I fought to keep it going for so long is because it really touches every student. Every student and some point in time goes through this program.”

Training student leaders to mentor incoming eighthgraders is paying dividends with an emphasis on developing critical life skills needed later in life along with making younger students feel more connected to their school.

Reynolds stressed while the results aren’t easily quantifiable in traditional metrics, she sees the growth internally in her students.

Habermehl said in 2017 they learned many students entering their first year struggled more socially because they lacked a connection to Vermilion’s traditions.

“So we went in last year and they taught the fight song and alma mater to the eighth-graders. So when we had our first pep rally they knew the words,” Habermehl said.