SPEAK Week

From March 26-March 30 the WYC Peer Leaders organized SPEAK Week (Sharing Personal Experiences and Knowledge) that ran at the Watertown High School. The week is designed to give the Watertown High community the opportunity to SPEAK with the overall goal of enhancing a welcoming school climate. Multiple interactive activities, speakers, and a collaborative art project occurred over the week in collaboration with Watertown High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance, International Club, and Armenian Club. Speakers Kevin Johnson & Barb Greve discussed unconscious bias and issues of diversity including class, race, and gender. The popular educator and actor Mike Fowlin also returned a week later to perform ‘You Don’t Know Me ‘til You Know Me’, which encourages acceptance and discourages judgment. A Massachusetts Department of Public Health Youth at Risk (YAR) and GRAA grants enabled WYC to plan and implement these programs.

PICTURE: Pictured left to right: WYC Peer Leaders Sasha Grodsky, Gabriela Aquino, and Golshan Zaheri in front of a SPEAK Week table