Wyandotte teacher starts peer to peer support group

(WJBK) - Inspired by her students, special education teacher Kimberly Sclafani began a Peer to Peer support group this year at Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte. 

Her students would spend most of their day at school only with their teachers, and would often ask her why they weren't more involved with the rest of the school. She founded this support group to help her students feel like they were part of the high school experience. 

The support group is an elective class, and started with 12 students enrolled in the first semester. Those who enrolled were assigned a mentee student that they met with throughout the week. The main goal of the program is for the mentor students to develop a better understanding for people with disabilities and to be more accepting and empathetic. Sclafani says the first class was very successful -- and many of those students are now considering a career in special education. The next semester, the class almost doubled in size. 

Sclafani joined us in studio to tell us more about her support group. You can hear from her in the video player above. 

She is also raising money to set up an inclusive classroom environment for the mentors and mentees to meet. If you'd like to donate, you can do so via their GoFundMe account here.