Summer Notes from the Youth Program

The Youth Program is happy to announce the end of another successful school year! We brought interactive conflict resolution education to record numbers of students in 2016-2017, serving 1,642 students and 19 unique schools and organizations within Whatcom County.

In addition to classroom presentations and small group workshops, we also customized original programming including: student leadership training, whole-school circles, health class partnerships at Meridian Middle School, Vista Middle School, and Kulshan Middle School, as well as leading staff trainings in restorative practices.

We are also pleased to share that Daniel Soloff will be returning in October for another AmeriCorps service term with the Youth Program. Daniel has channeled his positive and creative energy wholeheartedly into the role. He is looking forward to strengthening partnerships and to another year of infusing fun, games, and enthusiasm into our workshops.

Don’t forget, it’s time to bring out the rhyming dictionaries and start writing! The Peaceful Poetry Youth Contest is in full swing, accepting submissions from Whatcom County youth ages 4-18 until September 25th, 2017. Check out the website to see previous winners and submit poetry online.

We are so grateful to our school and community partners, funders, grantors, and volunteers; we could not do this without you. Thank you for continuing to make peace building a priority in our community and we look forward to another great school year!

- Emily Wilson, Youth Program Manager