At the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, Special Day Class (SDC) students and general education students form a unique group called Buddy Club. Headed by Denise Wold, a newcomer to the Santa Ynez High School scene, the club allows both Special Day Students and the rest of the student population at the high school to partake in a valuable opportunity to form friendships and build community.
Of the club’s activities, Wold says, “The SDC students are afforded opportunities to remember Buddies’ names and jokes they share, develop preferred relationships with particular Buddies, and perhaps most significantly, feel like they belong and have a safe social place on campus, and that [they] are important to their peers, teachers and staff.”
To foster these pivotal relationships between students, Buddy Club does not have many structured meetings in which all members are required to be present. Instead, to keep up with the busy schedules of the students – and to ensure that participants are honestly interested in and committed to building these unique friendships – “Buddies” visit the SDC building of their own accord, during, after and before school. Wold says this “natural structure and organization compliments and supports the campus’ integrated approach to learning and social activities.” Wold believes the environment for Buddy Club interactions should be, as all social environments conducive to building strong relationships, relaxed, upbeat and flexible in response to schedules, for “both parties [to] feel accepted and have freedoms to visit as time and energies allow.”
When “Buddies” are meeting with their SDC student counter-parts, they engage in many enjoyable activities, during which such friendships – like the kind Wold envisions – are able to thrive. During lunch, and before and after school, club members play games, talk and share each others’ interests, walk around campus and generally enjoy each other’s company. According to Wold, “The SDC students thrive on the social interactions and memories made during Buddy Club opportunities.”
But when the time calls for it, Wold will set up “Buddy Club Parties” for students to “become reacquainted with each other” after long breaks. The last party of this kind was hosted at the beginning of school, after summer vacation. But besides being just a gathering of friends, sharing delicious food and drinks, and indulging in photography, these “Buddy Club Parties” also are “an opportunity to celebrate and thank those who share their personal time with the moderate/severe student population.” Wold hopes to put on another “Buddy Club Party” to ensure additions of new members and the continuation of students’ involvement with the club.
Through these popular activities, the organization does something special for the SDC students. Wold says the Buddy Club’s greatest success is teaching “Buddies” how to conduct themselves in social interactions with Special populations, a significant lesson of the SDC.
Byron Cragg, a long-time member of the club, says, “It was a fun experience where we were able to bring smiles to kids that you wouldn’t normally hang out with.”
This priceless reward is exactly what Wold believes is the heart of the club’s purpose. Ultimately, the Buddy Club teaches students “how to develop friendships with others who aren’t like you and how to be tolerant, accepting and loving toward others who don’t resemble your own interests, abilities or social norms.”