Lowell middle school students get to keep bikes they repair during school day
LOWELL – Middle school students in Lowell are learning important skills for the future and also having fun as part of a special program that lets them repair bikes during the school day.
Tucked away on a side street in downtown Lowell and in the basement of a nondescript building you'll find a bike wonderland.
At The Bike Connector, four students from Butler Middle School get to take time out of their school days to work on building bikes.
"A lot of the students have told their teachers, parents, and staff that this is the thing they look forward to in the week," Butler Middle School's Community School Program manager, Justien Martin told WBZ-TV.
"The school wanted to reward some of the good students at Butler and asked if they could come in on Wednesday mornings," Bike Connector board member Patty Grasso said.
Earning their new bike
The students have to work for that reward. These students pick from over 2,000 donated bikes that need repairs and learn how to fix and maintain every part of them.
"These are boys who have worked with their parents on motorbikes or have aspirations of maybe being engineers one day. We saw this was something in our community, something we wanted our students to take part in, and ever since then it's been magic," Martin said.
"Fast and fun"
The fifth and sixth-grade boys get paired with bike repair experts who are volunteers at the organization as a way to see what adult life is like out of school and engage in hands-on learning.
"It's fast and fun," student Isaac Tomelin said. He was excited to work to earn his bike.
"The students love it. One student has said this is the best thing he's done in his life," Martin said.
Rewarding students
At the end of the program, the boys get to take home the bike they worked on.
"There's always one kid who says 'This is the best day ever,'" Grasso said.
Along with this school program, The Bike Connector goes to four local middle schools every year and gives everyone a bike and a helmet. Last year they gave away over 100 bikes that way.
