AMHERST — A ninth grader at Amherst Regional High School, Eddie Ekajulo doesn’t have to get to his first class until around 9 a.m. Yet he is often at the school by 7 a.m., taking part in a four-day-a-week program building bonds with his peers, getting his energy out in the gym and weight room and interacting with college students and public safety professionals.

“It means a lot to me,” Ekajulo says of being part of Morning Movement and Mentoring. “I challenge myself to wake up early and to get better at everything, working on my skills and my weaknesses.”

As a member of the freshman boys basketball team, Ekajulo can practice his jump shot at the same time he is making sure his grades are improving. “It helps me to stay disciplined in everything I do,” he said.

Keisha Johnson-Maduka, an eighth grader, said she loves being in the program, observing how it keeps her from feeling tired and grumpy and has improved her grades. “For me, Morning Movement is joyful,” Johnson-Maduka said. “I just like to come here and be with people.”

Now in its third year, and becoming more formalized as a partnership between the Amherst Family Center and Amherst Recreation, the program is open to students in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades, with vans available to pick up 21 Amherst students at their homes. The idea is to get the students up to 90 minutes of exercise each day before school starts, as well as to offer them more support for their studies, their interests and their lives.

Each Monday through Thursday, with the program either at the middle or high school gym, there are 10 to 14 regulars, with some days 30 to 45 students showing up.

High School Principal Talib Sadiq said he sees students in Morning Movement feel more part of the larger community and more comfortable when they arrive for the day.

“Not getting in trouble, thriving in the classroom, learning teamwork,” Sadiq said. “This is an example of what we can do to support that, and I hope we can keep it going.”

Dwayne Chamble oversees the program for the school district, understanding that seventh graders often have challenges as they move from elementary schools to the middle school, no longer having recess and ways to release their energy. The focus is on ensuring the students are making progress on “grades, behavior and attendance.”

“We have regular check-ins to make sure every Morning Movement student is passing,” Chamble said. “We’re tracking their behavior with guidance counselors and their parents.”

Chamble said this is foundational work, building communities and strategies beneficial for the students. “This is their program,” Chamble said. “We’re facilitating it, but it’s their space, and we highlight it.”

Becky Demling, who coordinates outreach for Amherst Recreation, said “a lot of our kids benefit from moving in the morning, getting their bodies moving before their classes start.”

“This is a protective webbing for kids who might fall through the cracks,” Demling said.

The opportunities to interact with Amherst police officers, who are a regular presence, is also important, Chamble said.

“It’s an opportunity for our Black and brown students to get to know the police one-on-one,” Chamble said. “We want to show them the heart of Amherst is here.”

Demling said that building relationships with students can make better officers.

Creating the program

Morning Movement is brainchild of Seiha Krouch, a paraeducator and part of the Family Center, who said it is important for younger students to have older mentors. Krouch started the program as a preschool day basketball time and it has morphed into a much bigger endeaver.

“They really look up to these kids,” Krouch said, adding that he has been leading outdoor hikes for participants, getting them out into the natural world.

The opportunity for an early-morning program developed when the secondary students started classes later in the morning, said Family Center Director Marta Guevara. There were doubters, though, that students would arrive at 7 a.m., even though she knew families were looking for a safe and supportive space for teenagers. “We all know what works for children, which includes listening to them and really hearing them,” Guevara said.

“It’s clear this combines everything that is important for kids developmentally, their bodies, minds and hearts,” she said. “This exemplifies what can happen when we come together.”

Maria Grove is the paid director who has brought in partners in the community, including from the Hampshire Sheriff’s Office and UMass athletes and students in the University FAM Lab, Family Relationships Affective Science and Minority Health, and students at Amherst College organized through the Center for Community Engagement.

“It was a beautiful seed planted and to grow it fruitfully, to give it the support and love it needed,” Grove said. “It’s really important to be a relationship driven person and student centric.”

Grove said she wants to make sure all genders, cultures and racial backgrounds have a place.

“Students are a puzzle, they are complex,” Grove said. “A lot of students are high need and they see us as a safe space. We’re actually creating change every day.”

Like Krouch and Guevara, Police Chief Gabriel Ting spent his childhood in Amherst, noting he would have benefited from having a similar program then. He finds that it’s a productive way for officers to do outreach. “There is no better way for our community to connect to kids, especially the police department,” Ting said.

Patrol officer Lindsay Carroll said she sees and understands students’ growth and progress as human beings, and building their confidence. “I cannot express how important this program is for them,” Carroll said.

Seventh grader Giannahlys Garcia-Roman said she likes being around police officers and socializing with others.

“I feel like it’s taken me out of being lazy at home and sleeping in,” Garcia-Roman said. “I’ll play basketball, volleyball, badminton, whatever. It gives me a better school day, instead of being tired and waking up and going straight to school.”

“It just makes me more active,” said seventh grader Dustin Reese, spending time in the weight room lifting hand-weights. “When I’m inside my house, I’d be playing video games and sitting around.”

Older mentors

Two high school mentors were on hand to offer encouragement one day this week.

“I really think this program is inspiring and helpful, it leads to conversations and building connections to the community,” said Frank Partida, a high school junior.

“Everyone here is influencing the younger kids, and it helps them a lot to feel included,” said Pavan Seiha, a high school senior.

Sofia Murphy-Genao, a UMass senior, called the program an eye-opening experience for her, that in addition to helping the students to warm up, there are conversations about how they might handle an issue in their lives and what their future goals are.

These can be deep and far ranging conversations, said Amherst College sophomore Camilla Lash, who has been coming to Morning Movement for the past year, starting as part of “Race, Education and Belonging” class, where she offered homework assistance. Lash said she has talked to a student of mixed race, using her own experience and racial identity.

“This can be a rewarding way to start the day, and it’s great to see people grow,” Lash said.

Organizers are confident that, while American Rescue Plan Act money was used for transportation and supplies, including board games, art supplies, golf balls and tees, that the Recreation Department and schools will find a way to continue it.

“We do feel like the will to keep the program going is there,” Demling said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.