Holiday cheer filled room A122 as students filed in to exchange gifts, decorate cookies and make crafts. Students and teachers from different backgrounds came together to embrace their differences. All students and teachers introduced themselves, forgot the worries of the day and enjoyed time together.

Revere’s Strong Teens Club hosted a holiday party which brought in members of Student Council to celebrate holiday cheer before winter break.

Strong Teens is a club that provides a safe space for children with intensive needs by volunteering with different clubs and sports to create connections and grow social skills.

The club began in 2008 to teach children with special needs social skills. Revere’s speech and language pathologist and adviser for Strong Teens, Stacie Mamula, explained how the club began.

“Jenny Kirchner was a guidance counselor prior to Mrs.[Emily] Rion being here. She came to me with an idea, she had a workbook called Strong Teens. It was just a way to build stronger teens and give them some strategies and tools, but it originated because there was a group of students who mostly needed to learn some social skills,” Mamula said.

The club began because there was a need for a safe space for intensive needs students. When the club began, there was not a classroom for special needs children, so there was not an opportunity for connections between special needs children to grow.

“The club initially came to be because there was a need. At the time, in 2008, we didn’t have an intensive needs classroom, but we had a handful of students who had more intensive needs. But there was, like I said, nothing here for them to belong to or be part of. So that’s where it came out of,” Rion said.

Rion, guidance counselor and co-adviser for Strong Teens, explained that while Mamula worked on conversational and social skills, she took charge of the mental health aspect of Strong Teens.

“For the students that we’re working with in Strong Teens, I have a really great opportunity to gauge where they’re at mental health wise. And then kind of seeing if there are any other supports that are needed there, “ Rion said.

The two found it much easier to manage tasks between their personal lives, jobs, and also Strong Teens if they both shared some of the workload.

“It’s nice to have a co-adviser, or a person to do this with, because there are plenty of days where I have to be pulled into a meeting, or she has to be pulled into a meeting, and you want consistency for the students. These students like routine, these students like consistency,” Mamula said.

When Strong Teens first began, Mamula would organize events once a week during school. Then, the former intensive needs teacher, Stephanie Duttry, noticed that the kids wanted to attend other school events, like sports games and dances, so the advisors of Strong Teens decided to take action.

”Mrs. Duttry said, ‘These guys want to go to homecoming, these guys want to go to the football games, these guys want to do things,’ but they don’t necessarily have the skills, the friendship or the support circles where it’s like, ‘hey, I’ll call you later, let’s meet up.’ So we do that for them,” Mamula said.

As Mamula and Rion grow their club, Strong Teens includes other students that they call peer models. Peer models are students who represent the Vision of a Minuteman and are patient with intensive needs students. These students help intensive needs students make connections outside of the classroom.

“When you’re looking for a peer model, you have to also have students that are tolerant, willing and able to be out of your comfort zone. Not everybody is comfortable being around people who are different in many ways,” Rion said

Peer models will meet with the class during the day and do activities with them. Rion and Mamula find their peer models by looking at study halls, or kids they know from other activities.

“We meet during first period and seventh period. We have two different groups of kids, and they’ll come to those meetings during the school day and hang out with us. Again, I’m always looking for a role model, a good peer model; someone with good conversational skills, good language, a sense of humor,” Mamula said.

Senior Ellie Meech volunteers with students as a peer model. Meech has a personal connection to the club due to her cousin being a part of Strong Teens during his time at Revere.

“ [Mamula] came up to me and was telling me about the program and how she was looking for people who were outgoing, respectful, and caring, and asked if I would want to be part of it. I decided to take part because I absolutely love working with others. My cousin has severe special needs and was part of the program. My aunt always would say how great it was for the kids, and for me to help kids like my cousin is something I love to do,” Meech said.   

Meech explained that on Wednesdays during first period, she goes down to the classroom to volunteer with the intensive needs students.

“Every Wednesday during first period, Jack Miller and I go meet with all of them and do weekly recaps and play some fun games to start the day off on a good note.  My favorite memory volunteering with Strong Teens was a Christmas Trivia game we did in teams,” Meech said.

Next year, Principal Andrew Peltz plans to give these peer models 0.25 class credit needed for graduation, for helping out with Strong Teens.

For their out of school activities, Strong Teens partners with different clubs and sports like Key Club, wrestling and baseball. They do a variety of different activities from school activities to bowling or going to the movies; however, due to COVID-19, Strong Teens hosts events in school to prioritize students’ health.

“Pre-COVID, we used to go to the movie theater, we used to go to the mall. We used to do more things in the community and then COVID kind of shut us down. We’re worried that some of these kids have decreased immune systems. We’re still to this day a little scared of the illnesses and being out in public and all that so that’s why we brought the November and December events in house,” Mamula said.

Mamula explained that she first emailed all teachers and coaches to ask if they would be willing to volunteer with Strong Teens. She got an overwhelming response and now she tries to include as many groups as possible.

“When I first started it, we brainstormed the events, and then I went to a staff meeting, and I said, ‘Hey guys, I’m looking for advisors or coaches, who are willing to join us?’ I sent out an email, and then I got a ton of responses back. So I’ve just slotted them in,” Mamula said.

Different groups are willing to partner with Strong Teens, making the planning process smooth. Strong Teens attends many different events throughout the year as follows.

“The very first thing we do in September is go to the football game and then the [homecoming] dance. In November we did a movie in the auditorium and we joined Active Minds. December is our holiday event, with the Student Council. In January, we’re going to go to the Variety Show with the softball team. In March, we always do a bowling event, and the baseball team comes with us. In April, we’re going to do the spring musical, and Key Club will join us for that. In May, we have an end of the year picnic. And at that time, we invite the incoming 8th graders,” Mamula said.

As for the future of Strong Teens, Rion just wants to see the club continue and grow in numbers. Rion and Mamula also hope to continue to include outside groups in their activities.

“I hope it just stays. It is something that I feel like needs to really continue. I mean, if I had my way, I would love to do more groups in general, like just with everybody, but I just don’t have the woman power, but with that being said, I would just like to see it just continue with a steady number,” Rion said.

The Revere community could not have made Strong Teens as successful without the overwhelming support from different Revere families and the district.

“We’re a fortunate school district where we don’t pay to play. There’s a lot of things that the district itself just kind of absorbs. So like we in this district, you know, have done a lot with not a ton of ask,” Rion said.

Mamula would like to continue getting support from families and the community, and it is rare that they disappoint.

“If I’ve ever had to ask anybody in the community for anything, it’s very rare that I get a no in this community,” Mamula said.

The goal is not to necessarily grow the club, but maintain the quality of the events  Strong Teens provides. Parents also get involved with the club, supporting them in different ways.

“We always have good parental support too. So if I need pizza, somebody’s going to sign up and send in pizza. It’s my job to maybe not necessarily grow it further because once a month is enough, but just to maintain those good relationships with parents and family,” Mamula said.

Mamula and Rion are also willing to incorporate students who are not necessarily in their caseload. They included those who have different needs so they also can grow and learn.

“I’m also always looking to reach out with kids that aren’t in the intensive needs room. We have a lot of students that could benefit from connections and social skills that aren’t on my caseload. So you know, always just trying to reach out to them and making them feel welcome too,” Mamula said.

The group has exciting events planned for the rest of the year. The next Strong Teens event will take place on January 27, where the softball team will accompany the group to the Variety Show.

Click HERE for more Lantern coverage on counselors at Revere. 

This story was originally published on Lantern on January 11, 2024.