SPRING 2026 Ransom Everglades LOG 29 for the 10th year at Ransom Everglades Ransom Everglades juniors and seniors known as “Peer Health Educators” kicked off the 10th year of the Health Information Project (HIP) at Ransom Everglades last fall. Wearing identical blue shirts, the students fanned out to ninth-grade classrooms to launch the health and wellbeing curriculum they administer throughout the 2025-26 school year. The goal for the last decade: to ensure a safe space for ninth graders to learn about significant wellness topics. RE students apply annually for the privilege of participating in HIP as Peer Health Educators and don the colorful T-shirt selected for that year. The student leaders underwent weeks of training with HIP, ensuring they can provide peer-to-peer instruction on topics ranging from substance abuse to mental health to nutrition. Founded in 2009 by Risa Berrin ’98, HIP has worked with more than 115 schools throughout Florida and beyond, training more than 28,500 juniors and seniors to provide health education to some 560,000 ninth graders. Faculty member Karen Key serves as HIP advisor and the student board members are Jack Barnes ’26, Chloe Dubose ’26, Charlotte Mark ’26, Olivia Geller ’26, Christopher Harper ’26, Blake Langer ’26 and Andres Casal ’26. Key noted that HIP shows RE’s commitment to the core value of Joy & Wellbeing in action. “This program has had a tremendous impact on students at Ransom Everglades for the past decade,” Key said. “The peer-to-peer element provides ninth graders access to important health and wellbeing information and the opportunity for honest, meaningful conversations with students they know and trust. The juniors and seniors who serve as Peer Health Educators also benefit, learning leadership, growing in empathy and refining their public-speaking skills.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY4MTI=