Anchored in our Youth’s lives at John Stockton Elementary

Courtesy Photo | Anchored4Life (A4L) conducted its annual training at John Stockton Elementary on October 25. A4L is a peer-to-peer club established in 2015 to provide opportunities for students to enhance social skills, learn leadership skills, build character, improve self-esteem, and integrate into their community. Their mission is to provide proven resources and strategies to both military and civilian children so they can become resilient, confident, and resourceful, to create a better world for themselves and others. Anchored4Life has expanded to 400 trained locations, 6,425 team leaders, 1,555 advisers and 1,386 trained staff to include elementary, middle and high school students.  

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES

11.03.2022

Courtesy Story

Commander, Navy Region Southeast

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –Anchored4Life (A4L) conducted its annual training at John Stockton Elementary on October 25. A4L is a peer-to-peer club established in 2015 to provide opportunities for students to enhance social skills, learn leadership skills, build character, improve self-esteem, and integrate into their community. Their mission is to provide proven resources and strategies to both military and civilian children so they can become resilient, confident, and resourceful, to create a better world for themselves and others. Anchored4Life has expanded to 400 trained locations, 6,425 team leaders, 1,555 advisers and 1,386 trained staff to include elementary, middle and high school students.

“I like being in Anchored4Life because I like to pass out kits and give new students tours, I am moving and when a student moves, a team leader gets to pass out a moving kit,” said Chayce Gozon, a 4th grader at John Stockton Elementary. “I am a team leader and we have to do meetings and give out kits and tours and all [to] help kids when they come to a new school.”

A4L at John Stockton Elementary School is a program for both military and civilian youth to connect and provide an easy transition for the newest kid on the block. A4L at John Stockton Elementary has team leaders who were hand selected to lead from the front while taking advantage of the opportunities the program offers.

“Anchored4Life helped me since I have been in the program about showing what kids have been through and how we can help each other when we go to a new school,” said Adelaide Wallace, a 4th grader John Stockton Elementary. “It’s been fun so far and I think it’s good for other kids to join because we show kids around school and it’s actually fun to leave class and show them around!”

Being a team leader in the A4L program is an important role from a peer-to-peer perspective. Each team leader assumes numerous roles as a student, mentor, and friend for various students to continue building the bonds and foundation of this program. Team leaders receive annual training that highlights certain things that should be conducted when welcoming a new student such as: four new student kits (moving/welcome/deployment/reintegration), ICEPOPS: Introduce yourself, Connect, Explain A4L, Provide a club feature, Offer hope, Plan to help and Smile. Finally there are the5 S’s, a key component that they must know when doing their job: smile, speak up, share your name, slight head nod and seek something in common.

“Anchored4Life is a student led group where we provide support to students who are in transition as a new student to Stockton, moving from Stockton or if they have a parent or family member going on deployment or reintegrating,” said Mrs. Jennifer Norton, John Stockton Elementary Gate Program Learning Lead and co-sponsor of the Anchored4Life team. “We’re supporting the mission, we’re supporting those families as they’re doing what they need to do and know that their children are being taken care of here at Stockton.”

Special thanks to John Stockton’s principal Ms. Stephanie Brannon and staff. Every month her team works with students to share this awesome opportunity on how the military and community works together for families transitioning, reintegrating and deploying! Because of this program, both military and civilian students have an easier chance fitting in and relating to other students whose parents have demanding jobs that cause them to complete their job away from home.

Anchored4Life is a program available to schools across the country. For more information on A4L and the resources they provide please visit https://anchoredforlife.com or visit their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay in the loop.

• Date Taken: 11.03.2022
• Date Posted: 11.03.2022 14:42
• Story ID: 432591
• Location: JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US