About
About SOS:
“I just want to make a difference!” That comment by a Vietnamese student at one of our retreats stimulated us to try to more actively structure a peer prevention program at our school. Until that time we had 30 wonderful trained peer leaders each year who were looking for something to do. They had retreats and trainings. They placed a box in the front office where students could request to see a peer leader, but the box was always empty, much to the disappointment of our group. One time transition to high school activities were tried and failed because of lack of continuity. Then we approached the English department with a proposal to pilot a freshman transition program for 50 minutes every other week in their classrooms throughout the first semester with our peer leaders as mentors for small groups of 6-8 freshmen. Three teachers volunteered, and the rest was history. We had such success that the next year the other freshman teachers requested the program, and from there we gradually developed our umbrella of peer driven services. Eight years later we are disseminating this program to the three other high schools in our district and to other schools in California with great success.
| Students Offering Support was created by Maureen Campbell and Sharon Yoerg in 1989.
Sharon Yoerg graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BS in English and French. She received her MA in Comparative Literature from Washington University, St. Louis, and a Resource Specialist credential from San Francisco State University. She continued her graduate studies in French at the University of Strasbourg, France and in the Teacher Leadership Program at Stanford University. Sharon has many years of classroom experience as a French and special education teacher. She chaired Woodside High School’s Special Education Department for over 15 years and holds CA junior college and administrative credentials. For the last fifteen years she has co-coordinated the SOS program in the Sequoia Union High School District and has developed many innovative youth development programs with Maureen Campbell. Maureen Campbell earned her BS in Psychology from San Francisco State University and her MS in School Psychology from San Jose State University. She also possesses credentials in elementary education, pupil personnel-school psychology, and learning handicapped education with a resource specialist certificate. Maureen has 28 years experience teaching and counseling students pre-school through high school as well as administrative experience coordinating child development programs for the Whisman School District in Mountain View, CA. She has dedicated the past twenty years to developing the SOS program in the Sequoia Union High School District, training staff and students throughout CA in various SOS programs and professing the power of peers at conferences, workshops, schools and community gatherings. PublicationsMaureen and Sharon have published their School Transition curriculum and Bridges to Safety, a program where teens teach conflict resolution skills to elementary schoolers. Click on the image for more information:
Conference/Workshop Presentation History:Maureen Campbell and Sharon Yoerg have trained and presented extensively. Below are some recent trainings: ICCE Fourth Character Education Leadership Academy — Joan Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice University of San Diego, CA — June 2002 Orange County Department of Education, Costa Mesa, CA — Feb. 2001 & 2002 California School Nurses Organization State Conference, Santa Clara, CA — Feb. 2002 CA Association of Peer Program, Anaheim, CA — Mar. 1999 – 2002 Peninsula Conflict Resolution Conference, Notre Dame College, Belmont, CA — Mar. 2000 – 2002 Association of California School Administrators, San Francisco, CA — Nov. 2001 Community Of Caring Inc. Conference, San Diego, CA — June 2001 Character Plus Cooperating School Districts National Conference, St. Louis — July 2001 Healthy Schools, Healthy People Conference, Sacramento, CA — Jan. 2000 & 2001 Guest Lecturers, San Francisco State University, CA — Nov. 2000 & 2001 San Mateo County Office of Education, Redwood City, CA — Oct. 1999 National Peer Helper Conference, Minnesota — June 1999 National Training Associates Conference, Monterey, CA — April 1999 |
“Ms. Yoerg and Ms. Campbell’s program really worked for our new school. They brought great energy to our students and their commitment to creating a positive environment here was a blessing. I recommend this team of educators and their programs without reservation.” – Mark Moore, Former Director, Bay Area Charter School “Excellent workshop — it would be great to have a team come to get us started” “Wonderful curriculum” “Fantastic presenters — experienced, dedicated” “Enthusiasm was wonderful” “Enjoyed group activity” “The SOS program helped me a lot. Working with different backgrounds, educating classes about AIDS, helping kids work out their conflicts and working with freshmen who were troubled like me, I helped myself as well as them. I felt everyone deserves a second chance in life and that was when I was able to take a second chance with my education.” - Student Leader |
