BEST students engage in self-advocacy, bullying prevention efforts as ‘Ambassadors for Respect’

Students in the District 191 Burnsville-Eagan-Savage Transition (BEST) program are teaching elementary students about inclusion and Person First language through the Ambassadors for Respect (A4R) program. 

The A4R program, which started in 2013, aims to develop the self-advocacy of individuals with developmental disabilities and to initiate or strengthen schools’ bullying prevention efforts. This initiative is made possible through a partnership with Peacemakers Minnesota and a grant funded by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities. 

BEST student ambassadors include Emily Dias Costa, Katelyn Hopper, Jalisa Joyce, Molly Rippentrop and Jayden Suh.

Over the course of two days in April, students visited fourth-grade classrooms at Harriet Bishop Elementary School and presented 45-minute lessons teaching students how to include others, use Person First language, and advocate for themselves and others. Person First language refers to the practice of putting the person before the disability, and describes what a person has, not who a person is. 

During the presentation, Molly Rippentrop, a former Harriet Bishop student who was able to visit the classrooms of her former teacher, Staci Strowbridge, had the opportunity to tell her story to students. She shared with students about her experiences as a person with autism. 

The presentation also included an interactive component to it, which enabled ambassadors to engage and connect with the fourth graders in a creative but impactful way.

In response to the ambassadors visiting her classroom, Harriet Bishop teacher Staci Strowbridge said: “So powerful! When students know and understand, they do better. The presentation educated students about being empathetic and reminded them about being a good human.”

"Ambassadors for Respect provided our students with powerful, hands-on opportunities to build self-determination, strengthen their public speaking skills and grow in confidence,” said BEST Work Experience coordinator Kasey Anderson. “Through this meaningful experience, students learned the value of advocacy, inclusion and using Person First language. I hope we can expand this training to all fourth-grade classrooms across District 191 next year."