LaSalle Springs ‘Need Squad’ Students Learn While Helping Others

In the back corner of Room 202 at LaSalle Springs Middle, above a row of scroll saws, hangs a nine-word quote.

“If you see a need, do something about it.”

It serves as a guiding philosophy for LaSalle Springs industrial technology teacher Bryan Tenny in his professional and personal life. It also serves as a motivational phrase for his students and, more specifically, the students who comprise the LaSalle Springs “Need Squad.”

New to the school this year, the Need Squad meets during Academic Lab to work on odd jobs from around the school and – sometimes – the Rockwood School District. If a chair leg needs reattached, if a wobbly table needs unwobbling, if a door stop needs constructing, LaSalle Springs staff members and students know they need to go to the Need Squad.

They see the need, and they’ll do something about it.

“I love working in this class. It makes me feel really good to help other people,” said eighth-grader Jake Eberhardt. “Every time I come in here, it’s something to really look forward to. It makes me really happy.”

The Need Squad is composed entirely of eighth-graders. Tenny said the students learned how to use power tools as seventh-graders and – after a two-week reintroduction at the beginning of this school year – they were ready to jump right into filling needs.

On a recent Tuesday, Tenny’s classroom buzzed with activity and the sound of power tools, as students measured, hammered, drilled, glued, taped, lacquered, sanded and polished their way closer to completion on a number of projects.

Wyatt Allen manned the table saw. It’s kind of his thing.

“Wyatt is our table saw guru,” Tenny said, with a laugh. “I like the fluidity of the classroom and how students go from group to group using their skills and getting to know someone else’s idea. It’s neat when I don’t have to give them the answer. They’re starting to realize that they can try things. In real life, a lot of times we have to get creative and think. To see them thinking on their own, trying something and feeling safe to do it is very rewarding.”

LaSalle Springs staff and students have a variety of channels through which they can fill the Need Squad in on a new project. They can contact Tenny directly or bring the need to one of the students in the group. An especially encouraging thing, Tenny said, is that his students are also taking it upon themselves to check out their surroundings and see if there’s anything they can address.

They can take a picture, bring it to the group, and they’ll see what they can do.

“We’ll ask our teachers to look around their classrooms and see if there’s anything broken that needs to be repaired, if we can do something down here to help a teacher,” said eighth-grader Gunner Hutchinson. “This just comes really naturally to me. I started mowing lawns with my grandpa from around the time I turned 8, and getting my hands dirty just makes me feel more natural about being around a school environment.”

Once the squad is done with a project, students deliver the finished product back to where it came from.

Need Squad members recently delivered a chair and table to the room of language arts teacher Lori Kitrel, receiving smiles and high-fives from the students they passed.

“Using the skills they learn in the classroom, I want them to project it into their lives,” Tenny said. “This is a great stepping-stone and platform to let them do that now, in a safe environment and a place where we’re all together. Then as they grow up, I’d love for them to use those skills in their life. Right now, they understand the tools; but the tool is just a tool. The need is what makes these things awesome.”

In his own way, Tenny is helping fulfill a need for the students as well.

The Need Squad gives its members a place to go and participate in something they love as they learn and grow, all while helping others.

“Mr. Tenny is genuinely here to help us,” said eighth-grader Maddie Laughlin. “He’s really patient and accepting.”

“I get to come in here, work and help people, and it’s kind of like an escape. It’s really fun,” added classmate Kaden Mensing. “Mr. Tenny knows how much we enjoy this class. He really cares about us and what we’re learning, what he’s teaching.”