People and Places Videotapes P eople and Places Cross-Age Partnerships White Rock Elementary School 9 North Gorham Rd. This elementary school uses cross-age partnerships to bring first, second, and third graders together in working relationships as classroom, reading, and writing buddies. The buddy system helps younger students, while turning older students into leaders and mentors. The program has proven so popular since it began in the fall of 1995 that the number of tutors has grown from twelve to seventy-eight. A middle school teacher of emotionally disturbed students teaches them to mentor first graders at a nearby elementary school.
All students benefit greatly.
They communicate with the three hundred younger students using video conferencing equipment.