Junior high students learn leadership and acceptance

  • Published
  • By David R. Hopper
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs

One of the more stressful parts of a Permanent Change of Station for military parents is watching your children go through the pains of lost friendships, new schools and starting over.

 

A new program sponsored by the Military Child Education Coalition called Junior Student-2-Student has been introduced to public schools by Offutt AFB and has the potential to ease the burden for children whose parent(s) are PCSing to Offutt.

 

The JS2S program will train junior high students with methods of supporting peers who are relocating to or from their school. The focus is student-centered and student-led, under the close supervision of a teacher or school counselor.

 

“There were five teams with six students each that participated in the training,” said Michelle Pridell, school liaison officer.  “That is one team from each junior high in the Bellevue and Papillion - La Vista public school system in Nebraska.”

 

Training for the JS2S program took place Feb. 15 and 16 and was the first time the program has been introduced in the state of Nebraska.

 

“Students and staff involved are excited about what we learned and can’t wait to implement the program,” said Peggy Wiese, Papillion Junior High eighth grade counselor. “The training wasn’t just informative, but fun also.”

 

Since its inception, the JS2S program has held more than 416 training sessions.

 

“This program taught the kids a lot of good people skills and the kids walked away with big ideas on how to implement the program here at Mission Middle School,” said Christina Johnson, Bellevue Mission Middle School seventh grade counselor.

 

During the training, attendees were encouraged to address the challenges faced by military kids and provide a layer of support during the transition.

 

“We would like to thank the Papillion - La Vista and Bellevue Public Schools for taking advantage of this unique opportunity to reach out and make easier transitions for incoming military children,” Pridell said. “The fact that the local public schools here in Nebraska are willing to take the time to learn ways of making a stressful PCS move easier on children, I think, speaks volumes about the area and the support they have for the military.”