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Safe School Ambassador Program debuts at high school

Eureka Reporter
by Gabe Bennett

On Thursday and Friday, Fortuna Union High School will host a Safe School Ambassadors training for 40 students and 12 staff members.

Safe School Ambassadors is a program that trains diverse and socially influential student leaders to intervene with their friends and classmates when they see teasing, bullying and other acts of cruelty.

FUHS is the first school in the county to launch this program, which works to maintain positive school climate. For many students, schools are a place where they don’t feel welcome, safe or included. According to a national study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75 percent of students nationwide say that they have been bullied at school. The National School Safety Center reports that 25,000 students are targets of attacks, shakedowns and robberies every day. In light of the recent events in schools around the country, the issue of school safety has again been brought to the forefront. Most have responded by making their schools into fortresses — increasing supervision and surveillance, restricting access and setting stricter policies with tougher consequences. Yet, until recently, schools and communities have largely ignored the most powerful source for stopping school violence and cruelty, the students themselves.

“Students are an underutilized weapon in the defense against school injustice and can intervene in ways that adults can’t,” said Gabe Bennett, anger management and substance abuse coordinator at Fortuna Union High School. “They see things and are aware of things that often the adults are the last to know.”

The Safe School Ambassadors Program removes these obstacles by very carefully identifying and selecting socially influential “opinion leaders” from the diverse cliques and groups at school. These students are trained in nonviolent intervention and communication skills to use among their peer group to prevent and stop cruelty and school violence. This training is partially funded by a grant from TAPESTRY program.