Peer Facilitator Project

A Leadership Program for Middle School and Older Elementary Students

A letter from Michele Hill & Jen Cohen, Peer Facilitator Project Coordinators

For over two decades, Media Providence Friends School has been at the forefront of teaching young students that they can be leaders and friendly helpers to others. What makes the Peer Facilitator Project (for any student in Grades 4-8) a unique offering at our school is the voluntary nature of this Social Emotional Learning work.

Students choose to advance their skills in caring, understanding, accepting and trustworthiness so that they may be of service to others in our community. They take a training course after school to learn and practice these skills and then make themselves available to anyone in need. Each year they have the opportunity to renew their commitment to this service they provide to our school community.

Imagine that you are a young student at MPFS struggling with a friendship, or frustrated in a subject in school, and there is a student who is eager to help talk through this issue with you. The Peer Facilitator meets with you privately to listen, care, ask relevant questions, and help you to try out ideas that may resolve this issue. Later, the person checks in with you to see if your new strategies have improved your situation. If not, the Peer Facilitator is willing to work with you again to come up with different choices for resolution. You feel the safety and care of the community.

Or think of yourself as the kind, generous student who is helping. You gain such confidence when another student is asking for your listening and caring skills. You see yourself as a problem solver. You gain patience and perseverance in this work to help others, as well as the incredibly satisfying feeling of being of service to another person.

Imagine that our school has so many helpers that these Peer Facilitators now add up to more than a third of our student population. And this changes the school climate in a positive way making younger children want to perform these skills, and want to grow up to do this work. That is Social Justice in the making!

For questions about this or any of our programming, please contact Director of Admissions & Programming Angela DiMaria.

Learn more about the project!

What is this leadership program?

This training is part of our MPFS Social Emotional curriculum. The program helps students take a more active role in the learning and helping process, becoming more effective with each other. They will build a positive learning community for themselves and all who learn here. Students will become more effective communicators, skilled problem solvers, and efficient decision makers assuming more responsibility for their actions.

What is a peer facilitator?

This is a student who uses helping skills to assist other students, adults, and themselves to think about ideas and feelings, to explore alternatives to situations, and to make responsible decisions. They are students who listen with care, and are able to give appropriate feedback and encouragement to others. These students promote personal and academic growth through positive relationships.

Who supervises this program?

Teacher Michele Hill, MPFS School Counselor, and Teacher Jen Cohen, MPFS Middle School Math Teacher, are the Peer Facilitator Trainers for the four sessions. They will continue to guide the students in using the skills throughout the school year. The Afterschool Program staff will allow Peer Facilitators who attend the Afterschool Program to be facilitators when it is needed. Recess and classroom teachers will know who received training and will guide those students who offer to help others at varying times during the day.

What is expected of the students during and after the training sessions?

Students are expected to attend all four of the training sessions.. Students will receive their own personal materials to use and keep.They are expected to read chapters and complete engaging exercises between sessions. Once the sessions are completed, students will receive a certificate, and recognition that they are Peer Facilitators at MPFS. Peer Facilitators meet once per month throughout the year to maintain their leadership skills.. They will serve as role models, kind friends to those who need assistance, friendly greeters to children visiting or new to our school, helpers and conflict managers at recess and in our Extended Day program.

Peer Facilitation has taught me very important life skills like good listening and problem solving. Those skills will help me later in life.
-Violet

I have a special bond with all the other Peer Facilitators that helps me be more connected to the school community.
-Silas

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