One student, one helper: Pioneer ADHD support program receives high marks
North Gyeongsang’s one-on-one volunteer program with a 97% approval rating is helping students manage emotions while allowing teachers to keep lessons moving.
Students attend a class with a special volunteer who helps students struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder stay focused in class in an elementary school in North Gyeongsang.GYEONGSANGBUK-DO OFFICE OF EDUCATION
ANDONG, North Gyeongsang — No student left behind, and no classroom thrown off track. The North Gyeongsang's education office is putting an extra pair of hands in classrooms so that the students who struggle with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), impulse control or emotional instability can be paired with one-on-one helpers. Teachers say it’s already making a difference.
At one elementary school in North Gyeongsang, a homeroom teacher spent much of 2025 struggling to keep lessons on track as a student with ADHD frequently acted unpredictably during class and distracted classmates.
“The student with ADHD would sometimes become angry during class, act in dangerous ways, threaten classmates or even throw things,” the teacher said. “Whenever that happened, I had to stop the lesson and work with the student individually. I felt frustrated every time the flow of the lesson was disrupted.”
However, this year has been different. The teacher can now focus more on teaching thanks to a new program from the Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education which incorporates "classroom support volunteers."
The program assigns a volunteer to provide one-on-one support to an elementary school student who has difficulty taking classes due to ADHD, impulse-control difficulties or anxiety.
Each volunteer spends at least four hours a day with a student during the regular school day. Volunteers provide support during morning activities, lessons, breaks and lunchtime and even help students participate in class and control their emotions.
“The one-on-one support has helped the student manage their emotions, and the outbursts have become less frequent and less severe,” the teacher said. “The student is also making an effort to calm down on their own.”
The improvement has transformed the entire classroom as well.
“The whole class can now stay on track,” the teacher added. “Classmates have become more understanding and considerate, and the student’s relationships with peers have improved.”
Students attend a class with special volunteers who help those struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder stay focused in an elementary school in North Gyeongsang.GYEONGSANGBUK-DO OFFICE OF EDUCATION
The Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education launched the program in 2025 after an internal analysis showed a rapid increase in elementary school students with attention difficulties. The analysis found that behavior by such students accounted for 51.9 percent of classroom disruptions.
The number of elementary school students treated for ADHD has also surged nationwide. The National Health Insurance Service found that 63,709 elementary school students received treatment for ADHD in 2025 — a dramatic 111 percent increase from 30,174 in 2019.
The education office launched a pilot program at 37 schools in the second half of 2025 and deployed 50 classroom support volunteers. It was the first program of its kind in the country.
The classroom support volunteers were about 48 years old on average and came with a range of qualifications in child care, social work, psychological counseling, teaching and special education support.
Following the pilot’s positive reviews, the office expanded the program in 2026.
Earlier in the year, the education office selected 30 first graders who still had difficulty participating in regular classes and assigned classroom support volunteers to help them.
The official launch has received strong reviews, with almost 97 percent of satisfaction rates from 290 students, parents, homeroom teachers, volunteers and school administrators.
Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education in Andong, North GyeongsangGYEONGSANGBUK-DO OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Notably, 96.8 percent of students who participated in the program answered they had experienced improvements in emotional stability and adjustment to school. Some 97 percent of homeroom teachers said the program helped create a more stable classroom environment. Satisfaction reached 97.8 percent among parents and 100 percent among volunteers, who also said they wanted to continue participating in the program.
Based on the results from the first semester, the Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education has selected another 26 classroom support volunteers for the upcoming second semester. The volunteers will start work in September as part of efforts to protect students’ right to learn and help teachers focus on their classes.
The education office plans to hold an orientation on Tuesday for 106 homeroom teachers from 85 schools that use classroom support volunteers, as well as officials in charge of the program at local education support offices.
The session will cover results from the first-semester satisfaction survey and examples of successful programs. The education office will also outline plans for the second semester based on feedback from schools.
“The heart of the classroom support volunteer program is to make sure that no one in the classroom falls behind,” Gyeongsangbuk-do Superintendent of Education Im Jong-sik said. “We will work closely with homeroom teachers and volunteers in the second semester to make sure every student gets the support they need to learn and grow.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
