Eleni Michailidis-Gajewski

Pen Pal Program Impacts All

Fourth grader Yanelis describes her pen pal experience with a University of Iowa College of Education student as “one of the best activities I have done in my life.”
“What I have learned is that a pen pal is someone who is going to be your future friend and they are someone who you will write to when you are way from each other,” she said.

Yanelis is a member of Eleni Michailidis-Gajewski’s class at McAuliffe Elementary, an inner city Chicago public school. Michailidis-Gajewski (BA ‘02) organized the pen pal project with two goals in mind for her students, who come from low-income families.
“I thought this would be a wonderful way to connect my students with the college experience while providing authentic writing experiences,” she said. “As always, my ultimate goal is to inspire my students to succeed both inside and outside of the school walls.”Michailidis-Gajewski’s students as well as the other fourth graders in her building are corresponding with University of Iowa Elementary Education majors.

Professor Kathryn Whitmore helped coordinate the UI side of the partnership. She said UI students benefit from exchanging letters as well. “The more exposure to children’s natural writing the better,” Whitmore said.

“Getting a chance to learn about the interests and identities of students whose backgrounds are likely very different from their own, as well as what their written language looks like as fourth graders is wonderful.

The project has been active for two semesters and both sides plan to continue next year. Whitmore said that as the project continues, she sees potential for her students to learn by analyzing the letters in class and even hopes to arrange a visit to the elementary school. The first letters the students exchanged were introductory and full of questions. “My students were eager to hear from college students that were going to school to be teachers,” Michailidis-Gajewski said.

In their second letters, many students discussed a book study they recently completed on Charlotte’s Web. But the children can choose to write about whatever interests them. “I provide discussion ideas and let the students take it from there,” Michailidis-Gajewski said. “They write more creatively when it is a self-selected topic. This is, after all, a motivational writing experience where students get to know a positive role model.”

Julia Matic, a junior Elementary Education major, said she loved getting to know her pen pal. “The first letter I received was over a page long and she even included a drawing of us and wrote ‘best pen pal’ at the top. I was so happy I almost cried,” Matic said. “I learned that something as simple as taking the time to write a letter once a month has more of an impact on someone than you would even realize.”

Michailidis-Gajewski said she and the three other fourth-grade teachers at McAuliffe Elementary have been “blown away” with their students’ positive response to the pen pal project. “Each time I deliver the letters they shriek with joy,” she said. “They are eager to write back, and they do so diligently. I’m pleased to see just how motivated they have become to be good writers.”

Her second goal is materializing as well. “Through the pen pal experience, writing has become purposeful, and college seems more of a realistic goal,” she said. “My students now discuss what they want to go to college for when they are old enough. In the long run, I hope that any of my students who find themselves in a bad position in life or school will reflect on this experience and find it in their heart to believe that with hard work, they can succeed through college.”