Safe School Ambassadors’ TestimonialsJan 25 2010by Kathy Fong, Associate Director, Community MattersCommunity Matters has trained over 25,000 students and adults in the ten years since the inception of the Safe School Ambassadors Program. What do these young people feel and think about their experiences as Safe School Ambassadors? Here’s a sampling of what these courageous young people are doing and saying to break the code of silence. From 16-year-old Dani in northern California: “In our training as Safe School Ambassadors, we learned how to spread tolerance and equality throughout our school. We learned how to defuse conflicts that arise in everyday life and how to create a community of peace and unity. “This is the campus I walk onto every morning: a safe and caring place. It sounds simple, but, today, there are so few safe places for young people like me. “I truly believe that the Safe School Ambassadors program has helped our school become one of those safe places. I know that my school has grown from this program. We have learned to resolve our differences, stop the cruelty, and reach out a hand to those who need it. “This program has inspired me on a very personal level. Because of the Safe School Ambassadors program, I went from being the girl who needed a hand to being the young woman who is offering my support when anyone else needs help. Being an Ambassador gives me hope that things can change, and that one day, the ideas brought to our school by this program will be brought to the world.” From the students at Bayside High School in New York: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrrltOn_ljA&feature=player_embedded#t=12 “The Safe School Ambassador program is a program that encourages eminent scholars here at John Muir Middle School to prevent violence on campus. During our prep program, we were asked to use our voices to express the want and need for a safer school. Being a Safe School Ambassador, I believe that me and other participants in the program have prevented fights, kept friendships together and have overall made Muir a safer campus. I applaud all the effort that the school staff and students who participate in the SSA program have put forth.”
Recent PostsRick Phillips Speaks On Bullying at the Clinton School of Public ServiceThe Clinton School of Public Service invited Rick Phillips, Executive Director of Community Matters as one of their Distinguished Speakers for their series of public lectures in Little Rock, Arkansas. Safe School Ambassadors school nationally recognized for its tolerance effortsMesa Linda Middle School in Victorville, CA was recognized as a “Mix It Up” Model School by the Teaching Tolerance Project. Straight Talk TNT - Teens ‘n Twenties Publishes Article Praising Safe School Ambassadors ProgramLauren Forcella, founder and editor of the website Straight Talk TNT: Teens ‘n Twenties, has written and published an article on her site praising the effectiveness of the Safe School Ambassadors program. Rick Phillips - Keynote Speaker at the National School Board Association ConferenceRick Phillips presented a two-hour keynote at the National School Board Association’s 71st Annual Conference on Saturday, April 8, held at the San Francisco Moscone Convention Center. SSA program Evaluation Report shows positive resultsA multi-year evaluation of the Safe School Ambassadors (SSA) program has been completed, with some very exciting and gratifying results. |