Kids who help less fortunate kids learn responsibility, compassion, sensitivity and appreciation for what they have. That is what science teacher Beth Davis, a UTD member, found when she formed a club called Kids 4 Kids at Jack D. Gordon Elementary School. Now in its fourth year, the club has grown to 250 students and membership has become a symbol of prestige at the school.

"I want to help other kids. It's fun and I love Ms. Davis," said third grader Lovely Examar, who herself is an abused child who lives at the Children's Home Society.

Each month during the school year, students have the opportunity to participate in a service project. The club meets before school twice a month. One month they wrote 300 get-well cards to children in Miami Children's Hospital. In October they assembled 300 Halloween bags that they distributed to homeless, Downs syndrome and hospitalized kids. In November they gathered enough donated food to provide eight Thanksgiving baskets to needy families, three of which had children in the Kids 4 Kids Club. Earlier in the year they wrote letters to United States soldiers in Kosovo.

The most publicized Kids 4 Kids project was at the beginning of the school year when they donated backpacks loaded with supplies to 2000 homeless kids, 500 migrant kids and 500 abused and foster kids.

Since becoming a non-profit organization a year ago, Kids 4 Kids has benefited greatly from some sizable donations from Target, The Miami Herald and WFOR Channel 4. The club also uses $12,000 in prize money won by finishing second in a national contest sponsored by Northern Life Insurance Company and ReliaStar Financial Corp. Most of the money went to filling the backpacks and providing incentives for the kids, though some of it is being spent on helping other school start Kids 4 Kids clubs.

On December 16, 1999 the students who had participated in three of the eight projects during the year were treated to a party, complete with a deejay, pizza and ice cream…all donated. In keeping with the mission of the club, autistic children from the Possible Dreams Foundation and from a local homeless shelter were invited as well.

"The kids in this club work really hard and they deserve this party," said Davis, who recently became certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. "I'm convinced what the students do in this club will have an impact on their academic achievement."

Davis sites a student she had who was a discipline problem in her science lab. After getting him involved in Kids 4 Kids, his behavior improved markedly by December. "I'm willing to bet his scores will go up too," said Davis.

SIDEBAR BOX

A groundbreaking, one-hour Cosby television show aired November 17 on CBS and Kids 4 Kids founder Beth Davis was in it! Davis and two other real-life teachers - one from Boston the other from Philadelphia - appeared in an episode in which Griffin, played by actor Doug E. Doug, dreams that teachers get million dollar contracts and endorsement deals, while the athletes are underpaid and under appreciated. In the episode Griffin doses off watching Entertainment Tonight hosts Mary Hart and Bob Goen tell viewers about the latest salary negotiations of a popular basketball player. Once asleep, he drifts into a dream about Education Tonight, where Griffin, a highly touted teacher is considering a "trade," from his school in Queens to a more elite post in Westchester. Meanwhile, the athletes - played by real superstars in cameos - toil away at their mundane lives.

Bill Cosby himself is well known as an advocate for education. The AFT has been in touch with the program's executive producer, who has shared story ideas with the union and solicited our comments. Subjects this fall and spring include showing more respect for teachers and the teaching profession, coping with out-of-date textbooks, illustrating how a teacher's day doesn't end when the final bell rings, and getting a parent more involved in her son's education.

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