Hunterdon Preparatory School is a high school unlike any other.

Located in
Annandale, New Jersey, Hunterdon Prep School is a small school with only about
twenty-five instructors and about seventy students. The reason for this is that the students
attending the school face social and academic challenges, and have not found success in
traditional schooling. So, with class sizes dramatically smaller than average (anywhere
from six to twelve students per class), students have the opportunity to have a more hands
on education from their instructor. Not only does the small size benefit the students
academically, but socially too. Because there are only roughly one hundred people in the
school, it has become a tight knit family between students and teachers alike. Throughout
the week, the students have class meetings with their teachers to address problems in the
school, and they work together to solve them. Between the small class sizes and the
culture of the school, Hunterdon Prep School is a safe haven for any student who does
not feel that they fit in a conventional school.
Although the small size of the school greatly benefits the students, it does hurt
them in one way. Because class sizes are so small, all of the students are working on
different material in their classes. An example of this would be when I sat in for Mr.
Larsons math class. There could be one student working on algebra, one on
trigonometry, one on pre-calculus, and three on business related math. So instead of
conventional teaching with everyone working on the same material and the teacher
teaching to the class in front of the room, Mr. Larson instead goes around the class
helping whoever needs help. This creates a problem because while Mr. Larson is helping
one student, other students need to wait their turn to receive help; and with only forty
minute class periods this could be problematic. Hunterdon Prep Schools biggest problem
is how difficult it is for one teacher to effectively control and properly educate their class
due to the fact the teacher has to essentially teach the students one at a time.
My classmates and I believe we have found a solution to this problem, and that is
to give more students at Raritan Valley Community College the opportunity to complete

their service learning assignment at Hunterdon Prep School. Currently. Only a handful of
students are given the option to complete their service learning at Hunterdon Prep School,
but we would like to see every student from both Foundations of Education and Service
Learning have the option to go to Hunterdon Prep School. Doing this would benefit both
Hunterdon Prep School and students at Raritan Valley Community College in many
ways.
The diversity of Hunterdon Prep School will be the first thing this would affect.
Hunterdon Prep School has predominantly white students, ranging from ages twelve to
eightteen. By adding students from Raritan Valley to the mix, the racially homogenous
high school students will mingle with college level students, many of whom are of
different ethnic backgrounds.
The equitability of the students education at Hunterdon Prep School with also be
affected. This is without a doubt the most important feature our plan has to offer. As
stated earlier, the biggest problem at Hunterdon Prep School is the fact that different
students are working on different material and have to wait for the teacher to finish
helping one student before another can be helped. So, by having students from Raritan
Valley helping in the class, students will not have to wait as long to receive aid. As long
as the Raritan Valley students are working in the subject they plan on teaching upon
graduation, they can be a great tool in facilitating the education of the students at
Hunterdon Prep School. Many students from Hunterdon Prep School will receive a more
egalitarian educational experience.
The next concept this would improve is the health of the students from Hunterdon
Prep School. This school was made for emotionally challenged students, and the students
from Raritan Valley have the ability to positively influence their emotional health.
Personally, I feel that I have had a positive effect on the emotional health of at least a few
students. From the beginning of my experience to the end, many students went from
feeling uncomfortable talking to me to being excited to see me. In particular, two students

come to mind. One student preferred working alone and was ahead of his peers in math,
so I was particularly interested in helping him. At first he would continuously shrug me
away, but by the end of my experience he would welcome me to work with him on his
problems. In time, we formed an amicable relationship based on our shared passion for
technology which made him one of my favorite students to talk to. The second student,
like the first, was also hesitant to talk to me. She preferred waiting for the teacher to
finishing helping another student before asking me for help. Then, as my time with the
students progressed, she became more comfortable talking to me and one day, to my
surprise, she told me how happy it made her when I came to the school. This was one of
my most cherished moments at the school. So from my personal experience, not only do I
believe I have positively impacted the emotional health of these students, but I know they
have positively impacted my emotional health as well.
The next point that needs to be brought up is the sustainability of having students
from Raritan Valley complete their service learning at Hunterdon Prep School. There
really should not be any problems with keeping this model sustained. The Hunterdon
Prep School staff loves having Raritan Valley students help out and the Raritan Valley
students love being there. Hunterdon Prep School benefits the most from this deal
because the help they receive from Raritan Valley is entirely free. This fact is remarkably
significant for them considering their inhibitive budget constraints. As long as the staff of
Hunterdon Prep School and the students from Raritan Valley continue to get along,
sending students to Hunterdon Prep School for service learning should remain
sustainable.
A number of events occurred at Hunterdon Prep School during my experience that
made it obvious that the faculty could use the extra help from Raritan Valley students.
The first, which I mentioned earlier, is that the students are each working on different
material. Because of this, the teacher is constantly moving around the classroom helping
each student one at a time. My activity of having more Raritan Valley students helping

out at Hunterdon Prep School will alleviate this problem because by having a helping
hand in the classroom, it will be easier for the teacher to teach his or her students. This
issue deepened my understanding of the flaws of having all students in a class working
on different material, which is the price paid for having such a small school size.
The second concept that deepened my understanding of the issue of students
working on different material is the disciplinary factor. When a student constantly
misbehaves in class, the teacher then personally escorts the student from class to one of
the many guidance counselors. This creates the obvious problem of wasted class time,
especially if the same students are repeatedly acting up and thus getting sent from class to
a guidance counselor far too often. This is particularly a problem in the younger classes
because a larger number of students have behavioral issues. My activity applies to this
concept because with Raritan Valley students lending a helping hand, they could escort
these students to the guidance office while the teacher continues helping students, or vise
versa. Again, this shows one of the flaws of having such a small school where every
student is working independently and is so reliant on the teacher being in the class with
them.
The final concept that deepened my understanding of the issues at Hunterdon Prep
School is the challenge these students face with social emotional learning. Regulating
emotions, listening and communicating accurately and clearly, and building positive
relationships are just a few skills that these students struggle with, which is why they
transfer to Hunterdon Prep School in the first place. Sending Raritan Valley students to
Hunterdon Prep School will greatly help these students with their social emotional
learning. The school is a comfort zone for these students, as they are all deeply familiar
with each other. When I first came to the school I was ignored by many students since
they did not feel comfortable around me. As time went on, they learned to step out of
their comfort zones, which is something these students need to practice more so than their
less emotionally distressed peers.

This issue, the teachers not having quite the resources to efficiently run their
classroom, is a public problem. The reason why Raritan Valley students helping out at
Hunterdon Prep School is beneficial for them is that the help is completely free. Like
many schools in America, Hunterdon Prep School does not have the funding necessary to
afford the extra help they deserve. This is unfair to the students because it is directly
affecting the quality of their education. Children are the future, and a democratic society
cannot effectively function without a properly educated population. Looking at the big
picture, the obvious solution to this problem is for the federal government to allocate
more money toward education. On a local scale, possible solutions include continuing to
host fundraising events for Hunterdon Prep School or for people to get in touch with their
representatives and telling them how important funding education is.
There is action to take in reducing the problems faced at Hunterdon Prep School.
The first action Im calling for is what my group and I plan on doing, which is starting a
campus student group to work on the problem. Sending more Raritan Valley students to
Hunterdon Prep School is the best form of action to immediately get to work on the
problem. Taking another course to gain a new perspective on the problem is another
effective action to take. Because of this class I will more than likely take special
education classes in the future. I believe these classes will give me a better understanding
of what students like the students at Hunterdon Prep School are faced with, and they will
better educate me on how best to educate socially and emotionally challenged students.
And of course the best form of action I could take is to complete my degree. My degree
will provide me with the skills, knowledge, and attitude to be a proficient teacher.
My service learning experience has profoundly shaped my career goals. Going
into this semester I was doubtful on how much I would enjoy teaching, but decided to
experiment with it regardless. After completing my service learning I am confident that I
want to pursue a career in education. Working with the students at Hunterdon Prep
School has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and has inspired me to

be the best teacher I could hopefully one day become.

Louie Vargas
Foundations of Education
Professor Suk
Service Learning Site: Hunterdon Prep
School
Hours completed: 20