HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS

new jersey teen prevention education program (teen pep)

The NEW JERSEY TEEN PREVENTION EDUCATION PROGRAM (TEEN PEP) is a statewide, school-based program that enables adolescents to develop critical skills necessary to make healthy life decisions. In participating high schools, junior and/or senior students are enrolled in a course for credit, taught by a faculty advisor team using a structured curriculum. Advisor teams train students to become peer educators, effective sexual health advocates and role models. Peer educators conduct outreach workshops with peers, parents and educators focusing on unplanned pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, postponing sexual involvement, sexual harassment, dating violence, homophobia reduction and other sexual health concerns. Workshops include skill-building activities such as communication with peers and parents, problem-solving, decision-making, negotiation and refusal skills.

The NEW JERSEY TEEN PREVENTION EDUCATION PROGRAM (Teen PEP) is a collaboration among the Princeton Center for Leadership Training, HiTOPS, Inc., and the primary program sponsor, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.

Additional sponsors include The Prudential Foundation and the New Jersey Department of Human Services.

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peer group connection (pgc)

PEER GROUP CONNECTION (PGC) helps incoming high school students adjust to their new environment. Senior peer leaders are trained through a course for credit to serve as team mentors to groups of freshmen. Peer leaders practice communication skills, develop a greater appreciation for individual differences, and learn problem-solving skills that they can apply to real life situations. Freshmen meet in small groups with senior peer leaders to examine peer pressure, relationships, academic concerns and other common issues facing high school students. PGC enables schools to build caring, safe learning communities where diversity is respected and celebrated. Students are motivated to stay in school, and make a lifelong commitment to learning. PGC also helps schools develop faculty and student leadership skills and creates a healthy social climate for teens.

Since 1979, PGC has been successfully implemented across a range of school environments, urban and suburban, public and private. Today over 20,000 students are annually enrolled in PGC programs in more than 100 schools in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Georgia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, D.C., Peru, and Brazil.

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transition project

TRANSITION PROJECT is a statewide program designed to help incoming freshmen make a successful adjustment into high school. Faculty advisors train a team of upperclassmen in a variety of leadership and facilitation skills. Student leaders then co-facilitate monthly Learning Station activities for all freshmen on topics such as decision-making, problem-solving, time management, active listening, communication, and relationship-building. Freshmen work in small groups with the same student leaders over the course of the year to create a sense of belonging and community spirit within each small group.

TRANSITION PROJECT is sponsored jointly by the New Jersey Departments of Education and Human Services. High schools in districts that belong to the New Jersey Peer to Peer network are eligible to participate.

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gesher lekesher (glk)

GESHER LEKESHER (“A Bridge to a Connection”) is a high school peer leadership program designed in response to the challenges of post-bar/bat mitzvah and post-confirmation education. The goal of GESHER LEKESHER (GLK) is to engage adolescents by having them examine issues of personal relevance with their peers through a Jewish lens. Older students actively participate in the religious education of their younger peers by conducting chavurot sessions once or twice each month. This personalized attention from older peers, along with interactive learning activities and meaningful discussion, helps younger students define their beliefs, roles, and attitudes towards Judaism. Concurrently, older students develop valuable leadership skills, including how to tell Jewish stories, facilitate group discussions, and serve as Jewish role models. Together, the teens strengthen their connections with their heritage, with Judaism, and with other Jewish youth.

The development of GESHER LEKESHER has been made possible with grants from the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

GESHER LEKESHER is included in the JESNA (Jewish Education Service of North America) “Youth Initiatives Portfolio.”

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