Holmdel Kids Looking Out for Each Other

When I was in the sixth grade at Indian Hill, I was bullied by a few of my classmates.

At that time, Indian Hill did not have a character education program, like the Heroes and Cool Kids program in place now, so there was nobody to turn to except the teacher or principal, which going to them made me seem like the rat to the students.

When I arrived at Holmdel High School, remembering my past experiences, I decided to apply to be a member of Heroes and Cool Kids. I saw the program as a positive outlet to try to help the students who are going through what I went through at Indian Hill. Even though I will never know whether I made a difference in the lives of these kids, I am still proud to be part of this program and the work it has done for the community.

Heroes and Cool Kids is a program at Holmdel High School currently in its fourth school year of operation. Started in 1998 by Bruce Harper, a former running back with the New York Jets, the program began in Bergen County school districts, but has since expanded into school districts in Northern and Central New Jersey and on Long Island and Westchester County in New York. 

Three times a year, selected Holmdel High School students travel to Indian Hill Elementary School to mentor the sixth graders on making the right choices in regards to nutrition, bullying, sportsmanship, drugs, alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse. 

The program begins in October, when applications are distributed to Holmdel High School students through the athletic department. A selection committee seeks out students with high levels of academic success, leadership skills in sports and/or extracurricular and community activities, and who are good role models for the Holmdel community.

After the students are selected for participation, they attend their first conference at Vonage in November with students from other high schools who have been selected for the Heroes and Cool Kids program.

At the conference, former professional and collegiate athletes train the high school students in order to prepare the high school students for their visit to the elementary school. The trainers at Vonage teach the high school participants strategies in order to effectively bring the message into the elementary school classroom.

The high school students will go on to attend two other conferences with the professional athletes, one in the winter and one in the spring, to train and prepare the high school participants for the next two workshops at the elementary school. 

Following the Vonage conference, the Heroes and Cool Kids students from Holmdel High School go to Indian Hill to mentor the sixth graders.

Divided into teams of about six high schoolers for every sixth grade classroom, the first visit involves the nutrition component of the program and getting to know the students in order to gear them up for more serious topics the program discusses.

The second visit to Indian Hill entails the bullying and sportsmanship part of the program while the third visit contains the drugs/alcohol/tobacco and substance abuse portion.     

The Holmdel School District Heroes and Cool Kids program is financially supported by the following organizations: the Holmdel Municipal Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse,  Holmdel PBA #239, Holmdel High School Booster Club, Indian Hill School PLG, Holmdel High School PTSO,  students from Village and Indian Hill Schools, and Vonage. The program advisor, Mr. Randy Westrol, is very grateful for the financial support of these organizations.

 For more information about the Holmdel High School program, please contact the program advisor, Mr. Randy Westrol, at rwestrol@holmdelschools.org or call (732) 946-1843.  For more information about the program as a whole, please email pros@heroesandcoolkids.org or call (201) 641-0699.

Nick Falci is a senior at Holmdel High School. He is going on to The Catholic University of America in Washington DC to major in Politics and History.