SAUGUS ― The district is planning to partner with Northeastern University and its Center for the Study of Sport in Society.
Saugus Middle-High School Principal Brendon Sullivan asked the School Committee on Thursday night for approval to continue the process of this partnership, which seeks to use the influence and appeal of sports to create a positive social change.
“This is something I feel very very strongly about; building a positive school culture is important to me,” said Sullivan.” It takes a long time and a lot of work.
“While they (Northeastern) would be focusing on the high school, over time as we build that culture of those expectations, they will get passed down and not to just my underclassmen but it will go over to the middle school,” he added.
Sullivan has been planning this connection since November 2019. Due to COVID, it has been pushed back, but Sullivan believes now is the time to act on this opportunity more than ever.
Northeastern’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society has worked with Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the South African World Cup, every branch of the military, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), every major college conference, police departments, community groups, nonprofit organizations, and more than 140 high schools in Massachusetts.
The high-school program also works in partnership with the attorney general and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.
The program actually consists of four separate initiatives: Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), Don’t Hate the Player (DHP), Forums and Workshops, and Toxic Speech Prevention (TSP).
“Their approach seems to me as not trying to place blame but try and power students to get them to be leaders in issues of equality, toxic speech prevention, and violence prevention,” Sullivan said of the program.
Sullivan explained that 25 students ― focusing initially on the junior class ― would meet with either athletes or college students, where they are guided and educated around equality and social justice.
Students who attend these workshops will then be able to then become leaders and teach fellow peers what they learned.
Sullivan explained that these workshops operate as a safe space for students and mentors, where students can become more transparent without a teacher or faculty member hovering over them.
The School Committee loved the program idea, and approved the continuation of this process.
“If the kids don’t feel comfortable, they are not going to want to be here at all,” School Committee Chair Tom Whittredge said. “An inclusive environment is something we talk about on the School Committee.”
”It’s something that we have talked about, changing not only the school culture but the district-wide culture, and this is an amazing step Mr. Sullivan is taking,” said member John Hatch.
