OHIO — A mother-daughter duo teamed up to help their second-grade students get back on through a pen pal program. A year later, it’s paying off as kids continue to work through the effects of the pandemic. 

What You Need To Know

• The pen pal program is designed to help students catch up and fill gaps in their learning


• Jenny Shiplett, a second-grade teacher, hopes they can expand the program next school year to include third graders


• Teachers learned how to communicate better with families at home, while helping students to communicate better through writing

Jenny Shiplett teaches second grade at New Lexington Elementary School in southeast Ohio. Her daughter teaches second grade in a neighboring district, at Logan Hocking at Central Elementary School. When the 2022-23 school year began, both noticed a similar issue that their students were dealing with in class.

“We kind of talked about the troubles we were having with kids with writing, and we decided to try a pen pal program,” Shiplett said. 

After hearing about it, all of the second-grade teachers from both schools got their students involved, too. The program not only fulfilled some state standards, but it also opened the door for kids to express themselves. 

Exchanging pictures and letters for much of the school year, a date was finally set for students from both school districts to meet. y

The goal: “To meet up and make that writing experience a really meaningful one so that maybe they’ll continue to write letters to people,” Shiplett explained.

Excited and nervous at the same time, kids hopped on a bus to meet at a local park. It was the first time students from Logan Hocking went on a field trip by bus since the start of the pandemic. One by one, Kate Dickerson introduced the pen pals to one another, giving them a chance to interview one another, while connecting beyond pen and paper through a scavenger hunt.

For pen pal Bailey Amburgey, who is a little shy, she said, “I was nervous, but excited to meet new people.” Plus, it was a chance for her “to have a new friend.” 

The whole experience was also an opportunity for teachers to get to know each other and share teaching techniques and programs that have worked for their students. All of the interaction between teachers and students and building relationships is something that many missed out during the pandemic.

As they get ready to wrap up the school year, Shiplett’s grateful they got to have the experience. The goal is to expand the program while continuing to make the best of every opportunity.