STAR guides destinies of youth
STAR light, STAR bright … helping children have wishes they wish every night.
Students Teaching Arithmetic and Reading (STAR) is a service program at the Val R. Christensen Center at Utah State University where volunteers work with elementary school children on a one-on-one or small-group basis to help young students learn basic school principles.
“STAR is a great program,” said Jennifer Minchey, program director for STAR and elementary education major. “STAR allows community service to be provided to the community.”
Currently, there are 14 other service clubs in the service center. They also help people get involved at USU, meet other people and have the opportunity to provide service for the community and USU, Minchey said.
A close friend of Minchey, who served on the USU Education Council, signed up with STAR as a freshman. STAR then assigned her to help tutor a fourth-grade class in Cache Valley.
“One student my friend tutored was the fourth-grade teacher’s son,” Minchey said. “This boy was a mess. [He] was on drugs, so my friend helped him change his life around.”
The boy then went on to graduate from high school and go on to college, Minchey said.
“So, it was a chain reaction [miracle resulting] from my friend’s STAR experience,” she said.
STAR was initiated in 1994 by Utah State University alumna Emily English, Minchey said. English started STAR because, as an elementary education major, English was also able to directly observe the need for it.
Dan Phelps, service center vice president for ASUSU, said STAR is doing very well.
“STAR has always been one of the more popular programs we have,” he said. “We have been lucky enough to have great directors within STAR, to keep the ball rolling.
“Just like Derek Zoolander said, STAR is a program that helps ‘kids who can’t read good and who want to learn to do other stuff good, too.'”
Michelle Rees, STAR secretary and family consumer science and education major, said word of mouth is the most effective way to get people involved as STAR volunteers.
“Everyone on the committee [is] really dedicated,” she said. “This really helps in finding [more STAR] volunteers,”
Rees said.
Rees is currently helping a fourth-grade boy by showing him flash cards, teaching him simple words and reading books with him. The boy used to be on a first-grade level of reading before Rees met him.
“I’ve seen him progress so much with his reading,” she said. “He can pretty much read by himself now.”
Minchey said this semester there has been a decline in the number of students volunteering for the
program.
“Last semester, there were about 100 volunteers for STAR,” Minchey said.
This semester, however, STAR has only 70 to 80 volunteers so far, so she hopes more volunteers sign up.
Volunteers meet as needed during the week and the committee members help decide how much and when they need to meet.
Minchey said, “I have noticed how difficult it is for just one teacher to reach all of the [elementary] children. So, volunteers’ help is very beneficial to teachers, the community and students. STAR gives college students the chance to help young, elementary students learn and grow.”
Anyone can volunteer for STAR by filling out an application form at the service center, or by e-mailing Minchey at jminchey@cc.usu.edu.
–dlboyle@cc.usu.edu