WMS begins Safe School Ambassador program

The library at Washingtonville Middle School buzzed with excitement as members of the Safe School Ambassadors gathered for their second day of training. The Safe School Ambassadors is a new program recently introduced at Washingtonville Middle School that helps prevent bullying and mistreatment in schools. 

The student-led program is effective because students hear and see things adults don’t, thus allowing them to intervene in ways adults can’t. Participants in the SSA program participate in a two-day training with adults who serve as program mentors. Throughout the training, students received the tools necessary to resolve conflicts, defuse incidents, and support isolated and excluded students. 

WMS Safe School Ambassadors participated in their two-day training last week on Thursday, September 26, and Friday, September 27, 2024. The program was led by Shay Olivarria, a trainer from Community Matters, which is an organization committed to improving the social-emotional climate of schools and communities throughout the nation. 

Throughout the training, students and their mentors (faculty members from WMS) participated in different activities that taught them how they would respond to different situations. They focused on different themes like balancing, supporting, and reasoning, which gave them different strategies like “stay positive” and “ask an open-ended question.”

In one of the activities, students were asked to write on Post-it notes things they had heard or seen in school that were not kind. Then, they all picked a random Post-it and were tasked with creating and acting out a scene that contained lines from the Post-its. In their scene, they had to incorporate a moment where they applied what they’d been learning to de-escalate the situation. 

“Kids want to feel included,” added Ms. Olivarria. “They want to feel safe and appreciated. Sometimes, no one wants to be the first one to intervene when they see something happening. So, we discussed strategies about what to do when you see your friends making not-so-great choices. How can you help them? The skills they are learning can be applied anywhere.”

“At Community Matters, we feel that the more students get to know each other, the more they can understand each other,” said Ms. Olivarria. 

Throughout the day, students worked in groups providing them with opportunities to get to know each other and feel safe discussing topics that may be uncomfortable.

“The Safe School Ambassadors program empowers students to take an active role in fostering a positive and inclusive school environment,” said Teresa Thompson, principal of WMS. “By equipping middle school students with the tools to prevent bullying and conflict, it helps create a safer, more supportive community.”

“In a time of growth and change, middle schoolers benefit from learning how to become leaders, model empathy, and stand up for their peers,” added Ms. Thompson. “They build essential life skills that will shape their future interactions.”