Service Learning in Grades K-8

Kate Thomsen is the Supervisor of Special Programs for Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), Syracuse, New York. She is also an Adjunct Instructor at Syracuse University's Graduate School of Education and Counseling. As part of her responsibilities, she supervises the programs of 40 coun selors in a school-based drug and alcohol abuse prevention program. She frequently offers workshops on resiliency and related topics. Kate is cofounder and cochair of a local coalition, Prevention Partners for Youth Development, which works to integrate youth development principles, especially resiliency and asset development, into all youth services in Onondaga County. A secondary English teacher with a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Syracuse University and a CAS in Educational Administration from State University of New York at Oswego, she has spent her career working in both school and community agency settings. She draws on this experience to offer many ideas and examples for building resiliency in youth.