WOODBURY, MN (WNN) – A new initiative is taking shape in South Washington County Schools aimed at creating safer, more inclusive classrooms.
In partnership with Midwest Special Services (MSS), PeaceMaker Minnesota and its Ambassadors for Respect Program is bringing bullying prevention training to fourth grade classrooms — empowering students with tools like empathy, cooperation, and peaceful conflict resolution.
Roughly 23 percent of Minnesota fifth and eighth grade students surveyed in 2022 reported being bullied or harassed weekly. The Ambassadors for Respect Program intends to change that.
What makes the program unique? The trainers themselves: adults with developmental disabilities who serve as Ambassadors.
MSS supports people with disabilities as vital and contributing members of the community. Working with PeaceMaker Minnesota, the MSS Oakdale location identified a team of six Ambassadors, three of whom live in Woodbury, to implement the program. PeaceMaker Minnesota provided their training.
‘Impactful’
Ambassador Tessa Froggatte has been going into fourth grade classrooms and teaching bullying prevention skills. “I think that we are impactful in assisting fourth graders in accepting those with disabilities for who they are at any age because we all matter as people,” she said.
The program also benefits the Ambassadors.
“This opportunity provides value to Ambassadors as they experience integration in their community and have the opportunity to practice and develop leadership skills,” added Mandy Grunklee, A4R Program Coordinator.
“For individuals with developmental disabilities, they are not only developing self-advocacy skills, but giving back to their community through meaningful work and strengthening bullying prevention skills with younger students.”
Program Focus
A focus of the program is teaching students to use Person First Language — emphasizing individuals before their disabilities (e.g., “a person who is blind” rather than “a blind person”).
Fawn Beckman is a Program Supervisor at MSS and helped to bring the Ambassadors for Respect Program to MSS.
“When fourth graders hear the real stories of adults with disabilities firsthand, they not only learn the power of kindness and respect, but they also gain powerful lessons in empathy, courage, and the importance of standing up against bullying – lessons that stay with them far beyond the classroom,” Beckman said. “When those who have gone through bullying and experienced it firsthand are the ones presenting, it hits us and them differently.”
While there is no cost to the school district, PeaceMaker Minnesota pays the an Ambassador team $250 per classroom. The cost of a team training students in all 40 of the district’s fourth grade classrooms is $10,000 per school year.
How You Can Help
PeaceMaker Minnesota funds the program with support from the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, but additional funds are needed to reach fourth graders in all 40 classrooms in South Washington County elementary schools.
You can support the Ambassadors for Respect Program by donating at peacemakermn.org. Please select “Program: Ambassadors for Respect” in the “Designate to” field. Donations by check are also welcome — please write “A4R” in the memo line.
