country programs
March 2009: The student body of Ponaganset High School in North Scituate, Rhode Island, crowded the school gym last week to celebrate the launch of their school's Youth Crime Watch program, STAR. State Attorney General Patrick Lynch, who has been a past supporter of youth crime prevention initiatives, joined the teens for a pep talk and a basketball freethrow challenge against two of the students (we aren't telling who won).
The event was the result of a YCW implementation training led earlier this month by John Mattson and Moses Saygbe of YCWA's New England Expansion Center. After the training, students conducted interviews with their peers and completed a survey to shape the focus of their program. They came to the conclusion that they should address bullying, substance abuse (in particular, underage drinking & marijuana use), and fighting and violence.
The group put together the whole-school assembly to launch the program in style. Twenty of the STAR students wrote and performed skits related to the three core areas they want to address, music was played (one of the STAR students is a DJ), and Attorney General Lynch was an honored guest.
The STAR students will now begin working on a series of projects related to their three focus areas. The school program has several advisors, including the school resource officer, an assistant principal and the school social worker.
A second kickoff is planned for the Ponaganset Middle School, feeder school to the high school.
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