PENNsylvania PENN Pals – What started as a simple assignment for a young student named Neil Petit, who hails from Waynesburg, Pa., turned into a cross-country friendship exchange.

Neil’s teacher, Mr. Zack Patton, from West Greene High School in Waynesburg, Pa, piqued his students’ curiosity by asking them to write a letter to a small town business out of state. Neil chose Bayak’s Convenience Store in Johnson Bayou because he saw on the internet that it was a small coastal store that offered fishing supplies and bait for saltwater and freshwater fishing.

Neil, an avid fisherman, wanted to know more about the small coastal area, its people, and especially what kind of fish were caught with certain baits. The new owners of Bayak’s brought the letter to Principal Joni Smith and ELA teacher Allison Romero of Johnson Bayou High School. This was a wonderful chance to show off the Johnson Bayou students’ English skills by writing letters back to all the students in Neil’s class.

Mrs. Romero researched and found the school and the teacher, and emails were exchanged with our ideas. The letters between students were written and sent. A few weeks later, a huge package arrived with loads of local items from the students of West Greene High School.

JBHS students received a social studies lesson on other rural communities and the value of a hometown fair and local goods, as can be seen in the pictures. WGHS students sent t-shirts, hats, stickers, locally made pretzels, and more letters to students. The Johnson Bayou community responded by gathering up Louisiana tourism shirts, stickers, beach glass, shark teeth, a few seashells, and more handwritten letters.

Last week, Mr. Patton sent a picture of his students holding up Cameron Parish goods! More exchanges are in the works between now and the end of the school year.

Administrators in both locations are making plans to have a Zoom call between the two classes and teachers, shortening a 1,300-mile difference, allowing students to learn that the challenges of geographic isolation can be overcome with a little curiosity and initiative.