Teen Council is Planned Parenthood’s award-winning peer education program. We empower teens to educate their peers about healthy sexuality and relationship issues.
(How) Peer Education Works.
Planned Parenthood of Montana strongly believes in the effectiveness of peer education as a model for reaching young people with important health information. We work to empower teens to share information through formal classroom presentations and through informal interactions with friends, family, and classmates. When students see a peer presenting about social situations and pressures with confidence and knowledge, they listen.
The Peer Education Institute provides the support, curriculum, and training to start a Teen Council program in your community.
What is Teen Council?
Teen Council is made up of a diverse voluntary student body from local schools. Members come to the group with different beliefs and viewpoints. Teen Council members meet weekly in groups of about a dozen teens with a Planned Parenthood educator to discuss various sexual health and relationship issues. No one is expected to already know about sexual health and prevention issues.
Teen Council members take what they learn during meetings and create classroom presentations to share with their peers at various schools and community groups.
Planned Parenthood strives to create Teen Councils that are strong and varied in membership, with an emphasis on building a group that is anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-homophobic.
What do Teen Council members do?
Through the power of peer education and accurate and unbiased sexuality information, Teen Council members work to end ignorance, promote tolerance, and improve communication between teens and the important people in their lives.
Teen Council members:
- Create peer to peer dialog.
- Educate on topics such as HIV/AIDS, harassment, healthy relationships, delaying sex, family communication, multicultural awareness, and more!
- Act as resources by sharing sexual health information with friends and peers.
- Participate in weekly meetings and trainings to increase knowledge and skills.