Molloy’s Learning Bus Makes an Impact in the Freeport Community

Molloy University’s Learning Bus returned to the Freeport School District this October, bringing a new kind of learning experience on board.

On October 7 and 14, social work and clinical mental health counseling interns from Molloy’s School of Education and Human Services worked with fifth- and sixth-grade students at Atkinson Intermediate School through hands-on social-emotional learning (SEL) activities. The sessions expanded the reach of the Learning Bus, which has also brought STEM and literacy instruction directly into local school communities.

For Molloy students, the experience offered an opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge while working directly with the communities they may one day serve.

“The Learning Bus is a mobile classroom that delivers hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences to elementary students in under-resourced districts,” said Dr. Vicky Giouroukakis, associate dean of Molloy’s School of Education and Human Services.

The University’s longstanding relationship with the Freeport School District has included student placements, service projects and professional development opportunities. That partnership, Giouroukakis said, has allowed Molloy to maintain a presence in the district and develop programming that responds to its needs.

During the October sessions, Molloy interns introduced Freeport students to the concept of gratitude before guiding them through the creation of gratitude jars. Students wrote things they were grateful for on slips of paper, placed them inside their jars and decorated each one before bringing them back to their classrooms.

The activity encouraged students to reflect on positive aspects of their lives while developing skills associated with SEL, including self-awareness, empathy and relationship-building.

“Gratitude looks different for every person,” Giouroukakis said. “The activity is used to develop and raise awareness of what they are grateful for in their lives.”

Under the guidance of a field supervisor, Molloy interns led activities and worked with Freeport students in small groups, gaining experience in communication, relationship-building and adapting their approaches to different learners.

Social work student Gabriella Mercado ’28 helped lead activities centered on gratitude and self-appreciation.

“Working directly with the Freeport students taught me that they need to feel welcomed and comfortable in order to engage and participate willingly,” Mercado said. “I noticed that students became more willing to share their ideas and answer questions in a larger group after having conversations with the Molloy student volunteers during the activity.”

For fellow social work student D’Onna Brown ’28, taking responsibility for leading activities provided an opportunity to strengthen her confidence and communication skills.

“These teaching experiences help build my confidence when speaking in front of others and participating in group activities,” Brown said. “They also give me experience engaging with different people and becoming more comfortable taking the lead. I believe this will help me in my future career as a social worker.”

Giouroukakis emphasized the importance of experiences that allow students to translate academic knowledge into professional practice.

“Opportunities to apply classroom learning in real-world settings are critical for students preparing for careers in all professions,” she said. “These experiences help students develop practical skills, build confidence and learn how to apply theory to practice.”

That same emphasis on experiential learning extends to the Learning Bus’s STEM programming, where Molloy teacher candidates have encountered opportunities to adapt their instruction, engage diverse learners and develop their teaching skills.

For Sofia Garcia ’27, one of the most valuable lessons was recognizing the importance of flexibility.

“This experience showed me how important it is to be flexible as a teacher and adjust my instruction based on the students I am working with,” Garcia said.

That lesson became particularly meaningful during an interaction with a Freeport student who was initially shy. After Garcia realized the student had previously been taught by her mother, she switched to Spanish and shared the connection.

“Her face lit up,” Garcia said. “She was able to open up and we were able to connect. This moment reminded me that building relationships is an important part of teaching because it allows students to feel seen and understood.”

Teacher candidate Maeri Baez ’27 also gained experience adapting lessons to different groups of students, including English language learners, while learning from her fellow teacher candidates.

“I have also learned a lot from my peers,” Baez said. “Seeing how they teach certain parts of the lab has helped me adapt my teaching to become more clear.”

For Brianna Paino ’27, teaching the same lesson to different groups provided opportunities to reflect on her instruction and make improvements.

“The repetition helps me to practice and gain confidence in my teaching skills,” Paino said. “I get to think about what would work better next time.”

Hailey Wilcox ’27 similarly emphasized the value of working with students in an environment that required her to respond and adapt in real time.

“Having the experience on the Learning Bus put me in front of real students in real time, which is the best preparation I could ask for,” Wilcox said. “In just a few weeks I have had the opportunity to teach classes of different needs and learned to differentiate and make changes right on the spot.”

She also witnessed how the Learning Bus could encourage students to engage with unfamiliar subjects and activities.

“Whether we were dissecting owl pellets or making gratitude jars, I saw hesitant students become curious, engaged and willing to share in ways they might not do in the classroom,” Wilcox said.

The addition of SEL programming also created opportunities for collaboration between Molloy’s social work and clinical mental health counseling programs. While the two disciplines approach individual and community well-being from different perspectives, both emphasize understanding people within the context of their environments and addressing their needs through supportive relationships.

That interdisciplinary approach reflects the broader mission of the Learning Bus, which brings educational opportunities directly into communities while providing Molloy students with supervised, hands-on experience. The initiative prioritizes Title I districts and students who may otherwise have limited access to enrichment programming.

Supported through grant funding from the Horace and Amy Hagedorn Fund at the New York Community Trust and private donors, the initiative also includes an Institutional Review Board-approved evaluation. Early findings indicate gains in student engagement and pre-service teacher confidence and preparedness.

As the Learning Bus continues to expand into additional districts and disciplines, Giouroukakis said its programming will remain responsive to the needs of individual school communities.

For Mercado, one of the most memorable lessons came from seeing Freeport students become more comfortable sharing their experiences after Molloy students shared some of their own.

“It was rewarding to see how something as simple as showing genuine interest in their experiences makes a difference in their willingness to participate,” she said.

For the Freeport students who stepped aboard the Learning Bus this October, the experience offered an opportunity to explore gratitude and the importance of relationships. For the Molloy students working beside them, it reinforced how meaningful connections can shape the way they learn, teach and serve others.