Building Bridges for Watertown Youth: Codington Connects Honors Project SUCCESS
- Steve Jurrens
- 4d
- 3 min read
Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - In an era where the pressures on middle school students are shifting faster than the seasons, one local program is finding success by meeting kids exactly where they are: in the hallway, the classroom, and the principal’s office.
This month, the community collaborative Codington Connects named Project SUCCESS as its Agency of the Month and its coordinator, Haley Rau, as Individual of the Month. The honors recognize a partnership between the Human Service Agency (HSA) and the Watertown School District that has become a vital safety net for local youth.
A Safe Harbor in Middle School
Project SUCCESS (Schools Using Coordinated Community Efforts to Strengthen Students) is a school-based program designed to reduce risk factors, including substance use, bullying, and mental health struggles. Unlike traditional counseling, it is embedded directly into the school day.
“I have students just walk into my office all the time and just say, ‘I need to talk,’” said Haley Rau, the Project SUCCESS Coordinator at Watertown Middle School. “You open a can of worms every time they say that; you never know what you’re going to get.”
The program uses screenings referred by teachers, parents, or coaches to examine a student’s “whole life picture,” including family life and social circles. Rau notes that while vaping and substance use remain concerns, the most significant shift in recent years is the students’ willingness to seek help themselves.
“When I first started in 2023, a lot of them had already gotten in trouble, and I was the consequence afterward,” Rau explained. “Now, most of my students that want to quit vaping, it’s almost always self-reported. They are typically not in trouble yet.”
Peer Power: PEEPS and Natural Helpers
A cornerstone of the program’s recent growth is PEEPS (Peers Educating and Encouraging Peers), a student-led leadership group. Under Rau’s guidance, the group has grown from 13 members to an average of 80-90 students per month.
The students take on serious challenges, such as “No Naughty Words November,” a student-initiated goal to change the language and culture within the school.
“It was harder for the adults than anything,” Rau joked during the interview. “My students would hold you accountable. Even if you said something that could be seen as gray, not bad in normal adult language, they would hold you accountable.”
Beyond PEEPS, the school utilizes Natural Helpers—45 students elected by their own peers as trusted resources. “Adults didn’t really have a say in this,” Rau said. “This is what kids thought: ‘I see this kid as a natural helper.’”
Community-Wide Impact
Sara Foust, President of Codington Connects and Director of Codington County Community Services, emphasized that the goal of highlighting Project SUCCESS is to show the community the proactive work happening behind school walls.
“Our community doesn’t see this because if it doesn’t affect you, you’re not going to go out and look for it,” Foust said. “We want our community to know all of the great work that’s happening.”
Project SUCCESS also bridges the gap into the professional world through the Carnival of Careers. This incentive-based event brings over 40 local businesses and colleges into the middle school to engage with students.
How to Get Help
For parents or students looking for resources, Rau maintains an updated “Weebly” page under the Watertown Middle School student links. The site offers guides on how to talk to kids about challenging topics like sexting, vaping, and mental health, as well as links to community resources like Safe Rides.
“It is hard to be a teenager right now with the amount of access to everything,” Rau concluded. “I always try to validate the kids’ feelings. It’s hard to navigate being around all of it.”
