NOLANVILLE, Texas – Upon entering the halls of a typical elementary school on any given Friday, one can see the hustle and bustle of another school week coming to a close, as well as excited students looking forward to the upcoming weekend.

At Nolanville Elementary School, however, the excitement and energy flowing through the halls and classrooms on Friday, Nov. 2, may also be attributed to the Soldiers of the 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, who volunteer to tutor and mentor the students at Nolanville Elementary School via the 615th ASB’s Adopt-a-School Program.

“Every Friday we’re [Soldiers] assigned to a class,” said Spc. Benjamin Benuck, 615th ASB, 1ACB, 1CD. “I know a lot about science and history and it’s what I’m interested in, so I’m using my knowledge to help with the kids and get them fired up about learning.”

Benuck, a native of Honolulu, added, “It’s a great sense of pride [for me] and I really love being a part of this program.”

The staff at Nolanville Elementary School share in Benuck’s sentiments.

“It’s [Adopt-a-School Program] really a big treat,” said Jennie Johnson, 4th grade teacher at Nolanville Elementary School. “We get Soldiers here as a presence, a lot of our students are from military homes and some of their parents are deployed so it gives them a really nice feeling to have a familiar uniform here in the classroom.”

Johnson, a teacher with 20 years of experience, ten years at Nolanville Elementary School, continued, “We really appreciate the fact that Fort Hood is here. It’s really a unique opportunity for our children to have the largest military installation in the free world here in our midst. We’re proud of our country and we’re proud of our Soldiers. It’s very special for us to get utilize them when they’re here with us, when they’re not in harms way [deployed.]”

The 615th ASB’s Adopt-a-School Program is growing and evolving year-by-year.

“In years past we only had one or two Soldiers that we spread around per grade level. This year we have a Soldier per class that we get to utilize on Fridays,” said Johnson.

Gabriela Morgan, Nolanville Elementary School Principal, explained the evolution of the Adopt-a-School Program.

“This year we’ve actually taken it to a new level. We asked to have a mentor for each teacher and our adopt-a-unit agreed to that and their working hard to get those filled,” said Morgan. “That was my goal for this year, to put one Soldier in each classroom for the consistency. We saw a little of that last year when the Soldiers would buddy up with a certain teacher; we got to see that growth in that classroom and the bonds that were made between the mentors and the kids.”

On average over 25 Soldiers from the 615th ASB tutor and mentor with an assigned teacher every Friday during the school year.

“It builds a partnership in the classroom. The Soldiers get to know the teacher, the teacher’s expectations and build a relationship with that class and then those individual students. They [Soldiers] work on basic skills such as flash cards, vocabulary, reading and anything that the student might need extra assistance with,” said Morgan.

Cam Baker, 5th grade teacher at Nolanville Elementary School, shared a recent example of the 615th ASB’s Soldiers influence in the classroom.

“We have them [Soldiers] on Fridays and it’s helping me tremendously. I have one student that needs one-on-one tutoring and two Soldiers working with me [tutoring]. This student has had more success today then he’s had in the four weeks he’s been at school,” said Baker, a teacher with over 22 years experience, over 16 years at Nolanville Elementary School.

There is an excitement in the halls and in the classrooms of Nolanville Elementary School every Friday during the school year.

“Teachers are asking me, ‘When am I going to get my Soldier?’ So it’s an excitement that we have going on here at Nolanville Elementary. They [the teachers] are excited about the partnership,” said Morgan, in her fourth year as principal of Nolanville Elementary School. “You can’t ask for a better partnership, I’m excited as a principal to have that for our kids. Our kids benefit from this partnership with our adopt-a-unit.”

It’s not just the students and teachers who are benefiting from the partnership between the 615th ASB and Nolanville Elementary School, but the Soldiers as well.

“That’s the excitement too that were seeing, the Soldiers are getting so much out of it. Some of them are having conversations with me about moving into education when they leave the military, and we need great leaders to move into the education field,” said Morgan.

The Adopt-a-School Program is a great opportunity for Soldiers to see what really takes place as a teacher on a day-to-day basis, explained Morgan.

“It’s exciting as a principal to get to see them [the Soldiers] enjoy being on our campus and working with children. I just truly appreciate the partnership; the quick responsiveness of our adopt-a-unit to be here to help us and to make sure we have what we need to be successful every day,” said Morgan.

Morgan reflected on the Adopt-a-School Program and the 615th ASB.

“They [615th ASB] earn an A+; they are exemplary in every way. I am excited to get to work with Lt. Col. [Shawn] Czehowski [commander for the 615th ASB, 1ACB, 1CD]. He has made all the doors open this year for our requests,” said Morgan.

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