Rangers Assisting Peers

Rangers Assisting Peers

Written by Mark Collins Friday, 07 December 2007

Students have role in problem solving

Vista Ridge High School began Rangers Assisting Peers this school year based on the premise that students often turn to friends for advice, creating an informal help network. RAP identifies key members in the network and gives them training and support to better serve their peers.

“Each sub-group on campus had somebody that people talked to,” said RAP organizer Will Fox, a teacher who is in charge of Teen Leadership Programs for VHRS. “We took a helper from each sub-group so everyone had somebody that they cared about to go to.”

This semester, VRHS has 14 students — called peer advisors — in RAP, and plans to grow to 20 students in the spring. Candidates for RAP were nominated last year in a campus-wide survey of 9th, 10th and 11th graders. Students were asked to list two peers who listened to their problems and helped them most. Those who were named most often were invited to become a part of RAP.

“We all wanted to make a difference,” said RAP member Krista Breslin, a junior.

Students who committed to becoming a part of the program went on a two-day retreat filled with training and team building exercises. They even created a rap about why they like the RAP program.

Now, RAP members are not only helping their friends, they also help students they did not know before who approach them on a daily basis.

RAP members are also charged with welcoming exchange students, special education students and new students.

“It’s fun. We like helping them, and we have good attitudes,” said RAP member Andrew Clark, a junior.

RAP meets three days a week for half an hour to discuss strategies and anonymously talk about students’ problems.

Despite coming from different sub-groups, the peer advisors find themselves spending a lot of time together.

“A bunch of us came in here and ate lunch together today,” said RAP member Taeseaun Williams, a senior. “We learned more about ourselves by being in RAP and knowing we can all be one group, one family."

The program has been well received by school officials, Fox said.

“A lot of students are helped by these guys in a profound way, and if this class wasn’t a part of this school, I don’t know what a lot of these kids would do,” said Fox. “We’re very lucky to have this program.”