TA News

Thetford Academy’s student leaders had another great year in Up for Learning‘s Getting to ‘Y’ program, a statewide initiative empowering young people to make a difference in their school communities. With support from adult partners, GTY participants learn to lead a cycle of Youth Participatory Action Research and use data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to identify and address the concerns of their peers.

In the 2024-2025 year, Thetford Academy’s GTY club focused on the mental health challenges they felt were at the root of many of the concerns identified in YRBS data. The focus of their work was to raise awareness and foster a culture of support at TA. GTY participants organized an assembly presentation about mental health, hosted informational tables for staff and students during Suicide Awareness Month, Red Ribbon Week, and Mental Health Awareness Month. They also performed a powerful spoken word performance about suicide prevention for the whole school community and hosted TA’s first Mental Health First Aid training for students and adults.

GTY also spotlighted the leadership of interns Mavis Downey ’26 and Hanae Debo ’25, who helped bring the program to New Hampshire this year and facilitated the state’s kickoff training. Read more about TA’s GTY year in the program’s annual report online. Students interested in joining GTY in 2025-2026 can contact Student Assistance Provider and GTY mentor Kara Toms.