Program in NEISD welcomes incoming military kids and more

Being the new kid at school is never easy.

“I know what it’s like to leave something behind because all my family lives in Missouri. I just want to make sure they know I know what it feels like to leave family and friends behind,” Mackenzie Oberlin said.

Mackenzie and her friends Shelby and Savannah knew it would be tough, so they wanted to make it a little easier at Lopez Middle School.

“JS2S stands for Junior Student2Student and basically, it helps welcome military kids or any kids in general, to new campuses because it takes a long time for them to get adjusted. This will help ease the process for them,” Savannah Sutton said.

Student2Student members are specially trained to offer support. They eat lunch with new students and give them a tour.

“The start of the day, we go to the concourse. If we see someone sitting alone, we sit with them and talk to them. We see how their morning was and by lunch time if they are sitting alone we sit with them and talk with them. We ask them how was their day so far,” Oberlin said.

The program originally began for military kids but quickly expanded to include all highly-mobile civilian kids who are transitioning into NEISD schools.

The program is available in every high school and every middle school in the District.

“Just to promote positivity makes everybody feels welcomed,” Sutton said.

Thirteen-year-old Shelby Medina could relate to being the new kid.

She joined the JS2S middle school program to make sure other kids wouldn’t feel alone.

“I definitely want to make everyone feel like included as a family. I don’t want them to feel like they don’t belong because everyone does belong in some way. If not, then it’s a very tough year for them and I don’t want anybody to feel like that,” Medina said.

Lila Chilton moved from San Diego and was greeted by the JS2S kid when she arrived at Lopez Middle School.

“To be a military kid, you definitely miss that family member that is in the military. My dad has been deployed in the past and it was hard on our family but we got through together,” Chilton said.

She said she is thankful for the Lopez community for standing behind her.

“I hope that they feel welcomed mostly and that they are very excited and happy to come and to learn. Here at Lopez, we go the extra mile to make sure everyone feels happy and welcomed,” Sutton added.

For Chilton, it was a welcome into the Lopez family and also the San Antonio community.

“I don’t think where Lila moved from, or where other kids move from, they didn’t have the holiday ‘Fiesta’ or ‘Battle of Flowers,’ so I make sure they know that you get a day off for this!”

Discover the NEISD way, where our educators create a welcoming environment for every student.