Peer Counseling
Peer Counseling is an elective middle and high school class that provides a full range of services to students, the school and the zone through structured in school and outreach activities. Peer Counselors are a cross-section of students who act as helpers and active listeners for their fellow students. The course curriculum focuses on prevention. It addresses a multitude of social, individual, school and family concerns and has a focus on violence and substance abuse prevention issues. In addition to helping their peers with individual concerns, the peer counselors provide a variety of other services. They act as conflict mediators and peer tutors, provide classroom presentations on teen issues, welcome new students and promote violence prevention, which includes anti-bullying programs.
Purpose Of The Program
The Mission of Peer Counseling is to develop and enhance the health, safety and well being of our youth by focusing on peer education through a comprehensive program and curriculum that encompasses social and emotional skills and awareness, peer mediation, academic opportunity, student service and referral.
This program trains a select cross-section of students to act as helpers and active listeners for their fellow students.
The core of the peer counseling program is a strong academic middle and high school curriculum which addresses skill building in communication, problem solving and decision making. It also addresses a multitude of social, individual, school and family concerns. Through careful selection and training, peer counselors increase the likelihood that appropriate help can be received by requesting persons. The focus of the curriculum is preventative. A variety of intervention strategies are employed, however, to educate and motivate students or to involve trained professionals, when needed. The results can be a more positive and safer school climate, healthier students and staff with lower stress levels, and a better utilization of school and community resources.
Peer Counseling Program Operation 
Through classroom instruction, role-playing and skill building activities, peer counselors are trained to help their fellow students. Requests for program services from administrators, teachers, students, school resource officers, counselors, parents and others are made to the program coordinator who assigns skilled and knowledgeable peer counselors to offer their assistance. In addition to working with students individually and in groups, the peer counselors provide a variety of other services. They act as conflict mediators and peer tutors, assist special groups or classes within the school and the zone, provide classroom presentations, welcome new students and promote special projects.
Program Design
The peer counseling curriculum is designed as a two semester middle school and six semester high school course with prerequisite screening and testing required at every level. This course is an elective class that provides a full range of services to students, the school and the zone through structured in-school and outreach activities. A peer counseling program is in every middle and high school in the Broward County Public Schools.
Elementary School
The Elementary Peer Helper Program equips young students with skills and information necessary to help themselves and others. This program is designed in a manner which enables the elementary guidance counselor to adapt it to his/her own program.
Here’s a poem by one of our students:
H is helping, those who are in need.
O is for overwhelming, the victims are indeed.
P is for persevering although many are filled with greed.
E is for extra work, which many volunteers will lead.
F is for fighting, for we will strive.
O is for overcome - the ability to survive.
R is reminding ourselves that they will stay alive.
H is for hailing our Lord, who we praise,
A is for asking, that they can still live to this day.
I is for investigating, for survivors who shed a tear,
T is for telling them that hope is near
I is for ignorance, which everyone should fear,
So listen to this poem, and we’ll keep horrible sadness at bay!
Please hear me out; you’ll want to say,
“We’ll help Haiti and save the day!”
Thank you for listening and do your part, help save Haiti and its many hearts!
!!!!!!!!!!!!! REMEMBER, have H.O.P.E.F.O.R.H.A.I.T.I. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Written by – Levy Soto,7th Grade
Apollo Middle School
Office of Prevention Peer Counseling Contact: Tresha Fletcher