On February 22, 2017 Ashley Paniagua, Youth Program Manager, and Daniel Schleifer, Executive Director of New Urban Arts hosted an Afterschool Leadership Circle webinar on creating safe spaces for high school students.
The Afterschool Leadership Circle (ALC) is a statewide network of Rhode Islanders who support quality afterschool and summer learning opportunities for young people. ALC is one of 50 Statewide Afterschool Networks, supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. ALC is a coalition that develops partnerships, informs policies, and shapes practices that sustain and increase the number of quality youth programs across Rhode Island.
ALC members come together to develop systems that support the academic, social, emotional, and physical outcomes for youth.
Questions addressed in this webinar included: What basic practices can you instill in your program and organization to better ensure high school students feel safe and valued? What are your concerns around issues high school students may be facing right now that impact their feelings of safety?
Since the word safe is used so frequently, we are defining safe space as a space where people are comfortable expressing their identity, seeking help addressing personal issues, and respectfully voicing their opinions. It is also a space where people can be confident they won’t be harmed.
Did you miss the webinar? No worries! The powerpoint file is available for download here.