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E. Brook Lee Middle School 8th Grade Latina Girl Program

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Who they are

E. Brook Lee is a Middle School in Montgomery County, MD. The 8th Grade Latina Girl Program was started by the school's ESOL counselors.

Their Mission

This program was established to address the excess energy in this years 8th grade Latinas and has effectively reduced instances of problem behavior. The mission of the program is to help Latina girls overcome obstacles and reach their goals.

What they do

The goals of the program are to create a group where the girls can get to know each other, make friends, learn to find trust in other people, learn to be open about the issues in their lives, and learn that there are people they can count on and confide in.

How they do it

The program brings the girls together for one hour each week to talk about what they are going through and how they are handling issues in their lives. The counselors also lead girls in life skills activities and guide them in community service activities. At the end of the program, the girls read positive statements committing to themselves, each other, their futures, not to use drugs, postponing pregnancy, and postponing relationships that would divert them from getting to and through college.

How ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! helped

The ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! books were a wonderful introduction to the topics discussed in the weekly sessions. The girls filled out the activities in the books and then developed other activities based on activity topics. The messages from the Rainbow Road poster were incorporated into the commitment statement the girls read at the close of the program.

Information

Rosi Dapena, ESOL Counselor
E. Brook Lee Middle School
11800 Monticello Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20902

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