OIL CITY, Pa. — On Monday night during the October work session, the Oil City Area Middle School WEB Team presented their new program to the board members.

(Pictured above: WEB leaders Sarah Fisher and Zack Glass giving their 6th graders a tour on Orientation Day.)

WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) is a middle school transition program focusing on 8th-grade students becoming mentors and positive leaders for the sixth graders.

At the meeting, school board members played along with the 8th-grade WEB leaders in one of the activities WEB uses in its program. It was led by WEB coordinators Kim Eberle and Chad Gardner who teach at the middle school. After the game, everyone watched a short recap video from the 6th-grade Orientation Day in August where the 6th graders were welcomed back to school by the WEB leaders. This was the first large event in which the 8th graders became mentors to the 6th graders.

Nine student WEB leaders, along with their family members, attended the school board meeting to speak about their experiences in the program. Students explained how they are trying to create a culture where the younger students feel comfortable going to an 8th grader for advice.

Eighth-grader Eli Moser said when he was in 6th grade he wished he had someone to look up to and to look after him. The WEB program allows him and others to be that person for the 6th graders. All of the students did an outstanding job speaking in front of the school board members and Superintendent Pat Gavin.

The program was discovered by Joy Zuck over a year ago. She wrote and received a grant from PNC Charitable Trust through Bridge Builders Community Foundations to help fund the program. WEB coordinators Kim Eberle, Chad Gardner, and principals Joy Zuck and Craig Kasunic attended a three-day training in the spring to learn how to facilitate the program at Oil City Area Middle School. The team worked together all summer to prepare for the inaugural year of the WEB program.

Many other staff members have helped along the way, speaking volumes to the whole idea of the program “Where Everybody Belongs.” The middle school has tried to create a culture where everyone is working together and having fun doing so. The school has already seen a positive change in their students. Along with students having an 8th-grade mentor and becoming more comfortable with the transition to middle school, discipline reports have greatly reduced, too. There has been a 67% decrease in behavior reports in 6th grade this year compared to previous years.

The program will continue throughout the school year with academic and social follow-ups each month. The 8th-grade WEB leaders will soon be in 6th-grade classrooms teaching lessons about attitude, stress, cooperation, rumors, and more.

The WEB team looks forward to continuing the program for years to come.

(Article/photo courtesy Craig Kasunic.)