Recently, Ryan showed his long-time tutor Bruce, a quiz he had done well on in school. This moment stood out to Bruce for two reasons; it meant Ryan was doing better in school, but it also demonstrated the level of trust that had developed between them.
Bruce has been working with Ryan for four years. Ryan’s family is no longer in shelter, but as a student impacted by homelessness he continues to be eligible for School on Wheels services. Bruce and Ryan’s long-term relationship is a testament to the deep and lasting good School on Wheels strives for through its programming.
Over the last four years, Bruce has seen Ryan develop into a student who is motivated to finish high school and pursue education beyond. When they first started working together, Bruce remembers Ryan getting easily distracted by other students working nearby, and coming to tutoring after having stayed up late playing video games. Now he is more serious. During a recent tutoring session, they sat together in their usual spot in the corner of the busy tutoring room. They were hunched over a SAT prep book, notebook, and dictionary, defining vocabulary words like “palliative” and “connoisseurs,” as Ryan prepared to take the SATs for the second time. He hopes to make a career out of his long-time hobby of playing video games by creating 3-D graphics.
“I’m going to be a friend and a reference for Ryan for the rest of his life,” Bruce says. This commitment to Ryan’s long-term personal growth will have a much greater impact on his life than short-term scholastic help alone would have. For his part, Ryan has this advice for kids living in homeless shelters: “It’ll get better, don’t give up.” With the continued support of our donors, tutors, and other volunteers, School on Wheels of Massachusetts can ensure that students like Ryan don’t give up on themselves or their education.
