The Benefits of a Rural Site

Hi! I’m Rachel, the team leader for Cassavant Elementary School. I find volunteering at Cassavant to be an especially rewarding experience due to its involvement in the REACH rural initiative. As part of REACH rural, the YMCA program at Cassavant is located in McLean – a hamlet within the town of Groton – and is thus quite a tiny program. The small size of the program allows tutors to form friendships with the majority of the students there. This is my third semester at Cassavant and most of the students that I know have been there since my first day. It’s a wonderful occurrence to go to the school each week and see how excited the kids are just to have another friend there. Also, because Cassavant is located within such a rustic community, there are numerous opportunities to teach and talk to the kids about ideas and issues with which they are unfamiliar; the learning opportunities for the children go well beyond the subjects taught in the classroom.

Another aspect of Cassavant’s involvement in REACH rural that draws me to the site is that unlike many of the other REACH sites, Cassavant is not within close proximity to Cornell’s campus, and transportation is required to get there. My REACH experience takes on an entirely different element than only tutoring the kids; the van rides to and from the site provide additional opportunities for socializing with other tutors. Besides the tutors from my site, the Groton Elementary School team is also present for the van rides. Not only do the van rides allow the tutors to get to know each other personally, but they also foster communication between the two sites and a better understanding of how the REACH program operates. On the whole, I’ve had fantastic experiences working at Cassavant because of the friendships I’ve developed with the kids and other tutors, as well as the teaching opportunities that working within REACH rural provides.

Welcome to YMCA @ Cassavant Elementrary School

Team Leader: Rachel Healy (rnh8@cornell.edu)

Site Supervisor: Misty Beebe and Laura Morgan

Location: 32 School St, McLean, NY

In partnership with the YMCA and the REACH rural iniative, Cassavant Elementary School hosts an afterschool program for children in the school districts of McLean and Dryden. The program runs Monday-Friday from around 2:30 to 5:30PM. One of the many benefits of working with REACH @ Cassavant is that we offer free transportation to and from the site

Two tutors are generally needed everyday, but mostly from Monday-Thursday because Friday tends to become a "play day." The program will have about 16 kids ranging from preschool to the 3rd grade. Most of the children have usually arrived by the time the actual tutors get there but some arrive a bit later due to riding the bus from their respective schools. Cassavant is a small building and all the activities from playtime to snack to actually doing homework is done in a hybrid gym/cafeteria/auditorium.

The children are usually playing (dodgeball, tag, etc) when we arrive. Then they move on to snack time; something very simple like peanut butter and crackers or apples and pears. After the snack table is put away, we usually start on homework. Since the children are young the homework usually focuses on math, grammar, and sometimes coloring. Homework can take a couple of minutes to a half hour depending on the student that you work with. After homework, the children participate in physcial activities or some sort of craft. If the weather is lovely, we usually play outside on the playground. By the time the children are winding down from a full day of activities, the parents are just beginning to pick up their children.

I had a blast working with the kids last year. They really keep you on your feet and remind you how full of ideas and cleverness children are.