End of the Year

Another school year has come and gone. We want to take the time to thank all of our students and supporters who helped to make this an amazing year.

 

This year, the KBEP Education team taught in 32 schools, including every public school in Fall River, Massachusetts! We also began teaching at new schools: Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex and the Metropolitan Regional Career & Technical Center in Providence, Rhode Island, and Parker Elementary School in New Bedford, Massachusetts. We hope to continue to increase our reach by teaching in more schools in different communities throughout the region.

 

With your help, we reached over 7,000 participants this year! Here are some highlights from the year.

 

A Message from Nwando:

Hello everyone! My name is Nwando Ofokansi and I am the Education Program Coordinator at KBEP. This past year, we saw some exciting changes in the organization. I have been working on building our professional development program, PD@KBEP. Proudly, our professional development workshops have been presented with several schools and agencies in the Southeastern Massachusetts region, and have been presented at national conferences across the country! This year, we were able to launch our online platform to offer our professional development workshops via webinar! I have also been working on building partnerships with other education and youth development agencies in the region, as well as with other students and young people in our communities. I have had the pleasure of teaching courses and workshops to high school students in Providence and Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and co-facilitating a workshop with a brilliant youth leader from Fall River, Massachusetts. I am so excited to see the organization grow and am happy to have been a part of it. Thank you for another great school year!

 

Here’s what one of Nwando’s participants had to say:

The presenter for Unrapable was FANTASTIC. She was engaging and when a difficult discussion erupted she handled it like a true professional. The topic was interesting and her presentation was enlightening.

 

 

A message from Jasmine:

The relationships we continuously build with schools and students is evident. Last year, I noticed that students were excited to have the program because they remembered enjoying it the year before. This year, I was able to experience and truly enjoy students not only recognizing the program but recognizing me as the educator they had the previous year. I think this familiarity helped in the numerous comfortable, important and meaningful conversations I was fortunate to engage in. The continued relationship we have with both students and teachers makes our program more impactful. It is forever rewarding when a student or teacher remembers something you said last year or is sharing with you how they plan to utilize the new things being learned.

 

Here’s what one of Jasmine’s 9th grade students had to say:

“The thing I liked best about the KBEP was the discussions were open, inclusive, respectful, fun and useful. The teacher didn’t talk to us, she talked with us.”

 

A Message from Rowan:

The best part about working for the Katie Brown Educational Program is knowing that I am making an impact on our community. Each day gives me a new opportunity to change lives, meet new people, and work towards putting an end to relationship violence. The work we do makes a real difference in the lives of those we reach  — and in turn, those they reach — by providing students with the tools and resources they need to develop healthy, respectful relationships. To me, the Katie Brown Educational Program means changing the lives of our youth by creating a world in which kindness and empathy are commonplace.

 

Here’s what one of Rowan’s participants had to say: The thing I liked best about the KBEP was that someone took the time to come and teach us something that really matters.

 

A Message from Deshaun:

Working at the KBEP in the last two years have helped me grow in many ways. I have grown to become more confident in my public speaking ability through teaching the curricula. With the help and support from the KBEP staff, I also had the opportunity to create the 4th grade curriculum which has been very successful. I am truly grateful to be able to teach about violence prevention, which is a topic that I am most passionate about.

 

Here’s a message from some of Deshaun’s 6th grade students:

“The most important thing I learned from the KBEP was that everyone should be treated equally and that everyone deserves the same amount of respect as any other person.”

“The most important thing I learned from the KBEP was to not listen to what people have to say and be positive.”

 

We are so thankful for the community of support that allowed us to reach over seven thousand people this year. We eagerly await the 2018-2019 school year and hope that everyone has a safe, fun, and fulfilling summer!

 

Best,

The Katie Brown Educational Program Education Team