About JAM: Just Ask Me
Founded in 2009 by a group of students enrolled in WHEDco’s flagship After School Program at PS/IS 218, JAM: Just Ask Me is a peer-educator-led sexuality and reproductive health and substance education program for middle school students. JAM: Just Ask Me seeks to:
- Educate young students
- Raise awareness of important health topics
- Empower Peer Educators to be leaders in their communities
Curriculum
WHEDco’s JAM: Just Ask Me Curriculum meets all National Sex Education Standards for middle school students and includes workshops on:
- Consent
- Healthy Relationships
- Puberty and Anatomy
- Gender and Sexual Orientation
- Reproductive Health
- Digital Safety
- Cannabis
- Mental Health
Peer Educators
WHEDco trains local high school students who graduated from the JAM: Just Ask Me program in middle school, as well as local college students, to serve as peer educators, who lead workshops under the supervision of WHEDco’s expert staff. All Peer Educators attend weekly trainings in the summer and receive additional training throughout the school year on:
- Health topics
- Public speaking
- Workshop facilitation
- Advocacy
- Professional development
Our Reach
WHEDco currently offers JAM: Just Ask Me to middle school students in our three After School programs at PS/IS 218, the Highbridge Green School, and the South Bronx Early College Academy Charter School. In addition, our staff delivers a modified curriculum to students in 3rd through 5th grade to introduce age-appropriate concepts through JAM Jr. We also deliver workshops to high school students in WHEDco’s College Access Teen Program and to parents connected to WHEDco’s array of Early Childhood and Youth Education programs.
