TCS LEADERS

Training Confident Student

LEADERS

This is a new project functioning within our Childhood Intervention Initiative that has Trinity Counseling Service and the John Witherspoon Middle School teaming up together to help promising students live to their full potential to become leaders, both today and tomorrow.

Goals:

1. To provide 12 (6 girls and 6 boys) 8th grade students an opportunity to gain improved self-awareness, self-confidence, social skills, and leadership skills.
2. To provide students an opportunity to serve as peer leaders to classmates and 5th graders in PRS elementary schools.
3. To provide students an opportunity to learn from and exchange ideas with students in the 11th grade at PHS.

Group Members:

During this pilot project, the JWMS Guidance Counselors will select students for the group based on their potential for positive leadership and ability to be strong school community leaders. In following years, it is hoped that students will self-select and apply for membership in the group.

Facilitators:

Groups will be run by a Doctoral Level Clinical Psychologist, a Masters in Health Education, and a Clinical Intern all from Trinity Counseling Service. Collaboration with Guidance Counselors at JWMS will be an important component.

Format:

Groups will meet during the lunch period and the EP period directly following lunch every Tuesday. The length of time throughout the year during which the groups will meet remains to be determined.

Each group session will be broken into 4 sections:

1. a catch-up, review, and social time during lunch,
2. a presentation of the topic of the week and a group activity based on the topic of the week,
3. small break-out groups to discuss or work on the topic of the week, and
4. a full group discussion/de-briefing of the topic.

Curriculum of Group Topics:

Each group session will include a topic determined by the facilitators as well as opportunity for members to generate relevant topics. Each group session will have didactic material as well as time for personal reflection and self-awareness.

The Curriculum is likely to be divided into 3 main themes:

1. Self-Awareness, Confidence, Integrity, Personal Values, and behaving with Self-Respect
2. Responsibility, Respect for others, Empathy, Good-Citizenship, and Positive Peer Relations
3. Assertiveness, Communication, Leadership, Conflict Resolution, and Bully-Prevention (By Computer or In Person)

Practical Application of Skills Learned:

• The group will create and facilitate activities/discussions for 5th grade students focused on preparing them for the social challenges they will encounter in Middle School.
• We hope to create opportunities for the students to offer information gained in the program to their classmates.

   

• We hope to invite 11th grade students to lead part of the curriculum pertaining to social concerns such as peer pressure, responsible use of technology, or dating issues.
• All practical applications will facilitate connections among the PRS schools and help ease transitions from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school.

Requirements:

Students will be required to attend all group sessions and participate in all additional activities. Students will be asked to sign an “oath” of Good Citizenship and Positive Leadership.

On-Going Evaluation:

• During each group session, one facilitator will observe and take notes to inform the development of the curriculum for future years.
• Students and School Personnel will be asked to complete outcome measures and program assessment questionnaires.