OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --
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.”