Private-School Students Offer Guiding Hand in Golden Hill

Jesse Saivar proved to be a big hit Monday with teacher Ellen Derner’ssecond-graders.

Saivar, an incoming ninth-grader at the private Bishop’s School in La Jolla, hopes to return soon to visit the Brooklyn Elementary School youngsters, almost half of whom speak Spanish as their first language.

A return visit would be fine with administrators at Brooklyn--always eager for volunteers--and with those at Bishop’s, more than eager to point their students toward such participation.

Saivar and 30 other new students at Bishop’s visited Brooklyn Elementary in Golden Hill as part of their prestigious school’s requirement that each student complete 20 hours a year of community service.

The students spent an hour in various classes learning what it’s like to work around primary-age students--after which they received a pitch from Brooklyn vice principal Minerva Johnson to become regular participants, either in the classroom or as after-school tutors or recreational aides.

Brooklyn hopes to be added to the always-growing list of organizations and social-service agencies--both in San Diego and in Tijuana--where Bishop’s students regularly volunteer. Bishop’s requirement reaches back almost a decade, an outgrowth of a school club that promoted voluntary off-campus involvement.

“We believe all of our students ought to have this opportunity,” Phillip L. Hadley, head of Bishop’s Upper School, said in explaining the mandatory requirement. “Hopefully, we’re planting seeds as to how meaningful such volunteering can be for our students as well as” helping out agencies and schools.

“It’s training that we hope will become part of long-range patterns for our students.”

Saivar, with a wide smile that displayed braces, proved a veritable Pied Piper as a group of boys followed him around Derner’s class, showing him their art work and a book about Corduroy the Bear, and trading special hand grips with him.

Their only problem was in remembering his name. “I don’t remember, but he’s a good guy,” second-grader Christian Cibrian said.

“The kids really enjoyed talking to him,” Durner said. “And a lot of them need male role models around.”

For his part, Saivar returned the compliments. “I’m actually enjoying it, I’d like to come back here. It’s a lot more fun than I thought.”

Johnson hopes that the school enticed two or three Bishop’s students to come back regularly. She was particularly pleased that several students, such as Maili Sekiguchi, spoke Spanish and bonded quickly with kindergartners still hesitant with their English.

Although a few of her teachers privately voiced concerns about Bishop’s “patronizing” the school, Johnson said Bishop’s outreach has no such connotation for her.

“I don’t feel that way at all,” she said. “Our kids have rich potential, but we do need assistance, and I find this a good way for one human being to reach out to another. I don’t want to stereotype Brooklyn or Bishop’s.”

Lisa Kerney, the school’s former coordinator of the program, said the community service does foster social awareness.

“The best signs of success are the many students who go far beyond the minimum (20 hours) and the many stories you get from teachers who hear their students talk about” their volunteer work, she said.