Youth Leadership in Middlesex

The Mentors in Violence Prevention Program (MVP) now offered at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (AB) has become a real hit! MVP, founded in 1993, at Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society, is a gender violence prevention and education program. During each meeting, the group of about 30 co-ed students is given the opportunity to learn about gender violence through scenario discussions, group activities, media clips and conversations about personal experiences. Every meeting is dedicated to a different topic, such as sexual harassment. Participants never run out of realistic examples to discuss, proving the importance of and need for the program. From verbal abuse to the stereotypes about men and women, gender violence is all around us. MVP is an outlet for students to step up in the community, to become leaders, and end this kind of intolerable behavior. The MVP program, offered to students at AB for the past two years, provides us an opportunity to learn not only about the problems that high schools like AB face, but how to help people deal with situations of gender violence. Everyone in MVP feels truly inspired to bring an end to men’s violence against women. The school-community, along with MVP, think that this program, dedicated to gender violence prevention and education, will lead to a safer future for this school. I would highly recommend the Mentors in Violence Prevention program to anyone interested in promoting a positive social change. Written by Jennifer Vreeland, MVP Member and Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Graduate, Class of 2003. For more information, please contact Lindsay Rosenman, Counselor, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School at (978) 264-4700, extension 2420

Newton South High School peer mediators actively participated in various leadership initiatives during the 2002-2003 school year.  Throughout the year, students learned conflict resolution and mediation skills.  After mastering those skills, the students helped to resolve school-related disputes by mediating student-to-student and inter-group conflicts.  Additionally, students studied the impact of disputes and how disputes can lead to violence in schools.  To raise awareness around issues of violence, bias, prejudice, and hate, the peer mediators offered to participate in Brown Middle School's Community Day for which they developed a classroom workshop for the middle school students.  The special training project included ways in which to identify, examine, and address prejudice and hate in our community. Classroom workshops were facilitated by the mediators for the entire eighth grade class.  Both high school and middle school students gained an increased understanding of the roots of violence, prejudice and hate and an appreciation for respecting individual differences. For more information, please contact Donna Gordon, Enrichment Coordinator, Peer Mediation and Mentors in Violence Prevention Trainer, Newton South High School at (617) 552-5515.

The Peer counselors at Westford Academy presented a 90 minute program for about four hundred 6th graders on April 9th, 2003 in the high school auditorium. The program began with a stand up exercise followed by a series of skits depicting the various forms that harassment and bullying take in the middle school. High school student leaders visited with a designated group of middle school leaders and they discussed the kind of bullying typical in the 6th grade. Equipped with this information, the peer counselors wrote the scripts for ten skits to illustrate these situations and included possible solutions and strategies for change with each skit. Individual peer counselors also volunteered to give testimony to their experience with harassment at the assembly. In addition, thirteen 6th graders were included alongside the high schoolers for a presentation that involved analyzing the true motives and meaning behind hurtful language. The assembly ended with closing comments from the 6th grade principal. After the assembly, peer counselors joined the 6th graders on the busses back to the middle school and led debriefing discussions about the various skits they saw. Each homeroom had two peer counselors sharing ideas with the group about how to cope with bullying. A lively discussion followed and a great deal of role modeling took place. Hearing a high school senior say that name calling is a dumb way to behave means so much more than having a classroom teacher say the same thing! This debriefing lasted about 40 minutes and was very valuable. Teachers and counselors at the middle school found the program to be very powerful. The peer counselors loved interacting with the kids. For more information, please contact Sandra Whittemore, Peer Counseling Advisor, Westford Academy at (978) 692-5570, extension 329.

Adolescents Working for AIDS Responsibility and Education (AWARE) is a student-run organization devoted to HIV/AIDS prevention at Arlington High School. Members facilitate an annual assembly about HIV/AIDS prevention, and participate in AIDS Action's AIDS Walk Boston.  Assemblies of years past have featured HIV-positive speakers, workshops about peer education, and explanations of safer sex techniques.  Students are responsible for organizing every aspect of the assembly, from contacting speakers to writing grants to buying food.  The AIDS Walk team fundraises through an annual bake sale, and soliciting donations from friends and family.  In addition to these two higher profile activities, members serve as peer educators to their friends, providing condoms and information about safer sex to those who request it. AWARE's members may be few, but they are dedicated, not only to preventing the spread of HIV in their school, but in the world at large. Written by Emily Taber, AWARE member and Arlington High School student. For more information, please contact Kate Cremens-Basbas, Arlington High School at (781) 316-3555.

Do You Work With Exceptional Youth Leaders?

Would You Like To Share The Work Of These Youth Leaders With Others?

Please send your 100-150 word paragraph describing a youth-led or student-driven program which helps to create and/or enhance a positive school climate (peer mediation, GLSTA, diversity clubs, etc. . .) or that helps to prevent risk-taking behavior in youth (smoking cessation, SADD, violence prevention, etc. . . ) to:

Deadline for submission is November 7th, 2003.

Write-ups will appear in the Partnerships Winter/Spring 2004 edition and on-line at www.projectalliance.org