Why DVN is So Excited To Go Back To School!
By: Colleen Curtin, Youth Program Coordinator at DVN
Going back to school doesn’t usually get too many people excited, but the Youth Team at DVN can’t wait for school to get back into session. At DVN, we have focused on centering youth voices, experiences, and education on everything we do. Our Youth Program exists in large part due to the vision and passion invested in it over the last several years by our director of programs, Lindsay Hill Stawick. For many years she was our entire Youth Team. Two years ago, I joined the team at DVN and suddenly there were two of us out in the community educating students and advocating for school districts to make policy changes to address teen dating violence and to become more familiar with the obligations they had to their students under Title IX. If you caught either of us out and about last spring, you probably heard us eagerly talking about the additions on the horizon with the expansion of our Youth Team.
This school year we are incredibly excited to not only be rolling out new curriculum, but doing it with TWO additional members to our Youth Team!
Last month, you met Joseph Myers, our newest youth program coordinator. This school year we are also thrilled to welcome youth advocate Anthony Gulley from the Julian Center who will also join us in the classroom. Both Joseph and Anthony have experience as classroom teachers who are passionate about engaging in critical conversations with students about teen dating violence, sexual assault, and healthy relationships, that empower young people to be change agents in their schools. They are also passionate about educating teachers, school staff, and administrators about how to provide resources to the young people who are experiencing unhealthy or abusive relationships.
It may not be my first day on the job, but I am inspired by this new season with the recent expansion of our team, the brilliance of our new curriculum and the impact I know we will be able to have as a result of both. They have already reinvigorated my energy and renewed my enthusiasm for educating and empowering young people in our community.
If you would like to learn more about our Youth Program, email Colleen ccurtin@dvnconnect.org
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