Westover Comprehensive High School recognized for influx of new Beta Club members

ALBANY — The National Beta Club named Westover Comprehensive High School a School of Distinction, an honor which goes to schools that increase club membership by more than 10 percent, last month.

Tye Beck, a Westover teacher who has run the high school’s Beta Club for three years, said the club recently doubled its membership to more than 50 students.

“They were really surprised,” Beck said. “I don’t think they realized that we were standing out. When there’s larger groups working, people get more excited. When you have 50 people that you can mobilize to do something, that’s a lot of work. That’s 50 man hours per hour of work you can get done. Whereas with 10 or 15 people, there’s a limit to what you can do.

“They see the power of numbers.”

Beck said the Westover Beta Club has helped various organizations such as Second Harvest of South Georgia, SOWGA Council on Aging, Thronateeska Heritage Center, the Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Purse while also raising money for Christmas gifts for those being assisted by Liberty House.

“Once (the students) saw what their money was going to, they just felt really good about giving,” Beck said. “I don’t want them just to raise money and do stuff. I want them to know why they’re doing it.”

Beck said one of the factors that brought in so many new members was keeping people informed about the club’s activities.

“The big thing was getting the word out,” Beck said. “I try to encourage the members that are already sophomores and upperclassmen to try to recruit the younger kids to get into it. And then every time we do an event, we take pictures, we send them back in to the principal and he sends it out to all to all of the teachers to put on their big screens so that every class goes, ‘Wow. Look what the Beta Club’s doing.’”

Although there are some universal requirements to join Beta Club, each chapter has its own criteria. Junior Beta is divided into two divisions: Division I includes grades 4-5, and Division II includes grades 6-8. Senior Beta includes grades 9-12.

All members must be on the honor roll, adhere to the Beta mission and learn to embrace and embody its four pillars — achievement, character, leadership and service.

“We try to encourage (students) to behave in school, get good grades,” Beck said. “Then, hopefully, when they become adults, they won’t forget, maybe they’ll continue doing good deeds and maybe teach their kids to do good deeds.”