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Post a commentGirls Star proves you don’t need to be a celebrity to be a hero
Students are starring as peer mentors in Downingtown High School West’s Girls Star program for young women.
The program serves as a peer mentoring opportunity for high school-aged girls and has been a fixture at Downingtown since 1998.
The program’s purpose is not to serve as a therapy session, but rather as a proactive chance for girls to learn communication skills and focus on contemporary issues they may encounter as teens.
District spokeswoman Pat McGlone expects a new branch of the Girls Star program to be implemented at Downingtown High School East by next fall. In the meantime sophomore students and teachers will be trained to work as Girls Star mentors when the project starts up next school year, and parent volunteers have been raising funds for the program.
Girls Star teacher facilitators at Downingtown West Shelley Francies and Diane Scanze meet with the group of ninth- and 11th-grade girls for about 10 weeks after school throughout the year.
Francies teaches a freshman African and Asian studies history class at the high school and Scanze teaches students in learning support.
Freshman girls who sign up for the group come from a variety of different backgrounds.
“We end up with a great mix of girls who are not all in the same social clique. They learn about accepting people for who they are and learn what their strengths are as women,” Francies said.
At the start of each meeting the girls break the ice by sitting in a circle sharing what they are feeling, participate in a brief breathing relaxation exercise and enjoy a snack. Later the group has a discussion on the week’s topic and the girls break into smaller groups.
The student mentors plan the meeting agenda and pick the general discussion topics that include, but are not limited to, body image, stress management, addiction, and family and romantic relationships.
“I think it’s empowering for girls to have faith in themselves and their own ability to navigate what can be a tough world,” Francies said.
Eleventh-grade student mentors are trained in mentoring, communication and leadership skills prior to the start of the program and are chosen through teacher and guidance counselor recommendations.
Teacher facilitators are always present at the meetings to guide the group. Meetings are confidential; however, if a student shares information that would jeopardize their personal safety, the proper authorities are notified by school staff. Last year, about 60 girls were enrolled in the program.
“The beginning of the year is so difficult for the ninth-graders. They are trying to figure out who they are, so it’s great that there are older girls in the building who are there for them,” Francies said.
Girls Star co-founders Sherry Rubin, a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice in Exton, and Cherie Martin Franklin, a psychologist who has since passed away, created the program in 1997.
Currently there is also a Girls Star group at North Brandywine Middle School. According to Rubin, the program is designed as a prevention tool and to teach skills for healthy coping, conflict resolution and communication.
Often, she said the program helps spur development in both the eleventh-grade mentors and the ninth-graders who are mentored.
“A lot of the young women talk about how important it makes them feel that they have been able to make a meaningful contribution to somebody else’s life,” Rubin said.
Overall, Rubin has observed the program encourage young women to be positive, love themselves and make choices consistent with their individual values.
For more information,1 check out www.girlsstar.org.
The program serves as a peer mentoring opportunity for high school-aged girls and has been a fixture at Downingtown since 1998.
The program’s purpose is not to serve as a therapy session, but rather as a proactive chance for girls to learn communication skills and focus on contemporary issues they may encounter as teens.
District spokeswoman Pat McGlone expects a new branch of the Girls Star program to be implemented at Downingtown High School East by next fall. In the meantime sophomore students and teachers will be trained to work as Girls Star mentors when the project starts up next school year, and parent volunteers have been raising funds for the program.
Girls Star teacher facilitators at Downingtown West Shelley Francies and Diane Scanze meet with the group of ninth- and 11th-grade girls for about 10 weeks after school throughout the year.
Francies teaches a freshman African and Asian studies history class at the high school and Scanze teaches students in learning support.
Freshman girls who sign up for the group come from a variety of different backgrounds.
“We end up with a great mix of girls who are not all in the same social clique. They learn about accepting people for who they are and learn what their strengths are as women,” Francies said.
At the start of each meeting the girls break the ice by sitting in a circle sharing what they are feeling, participate in a brief breathing relaxation exercise and enjoy a snack. Later the group has a discussion on the week’s topic and the girls break into smaller groups.
The student mentors plan the meeting agenda and pick the general discussion topics that include, but are not limited to, body image, stress management, addiction, and family and romantic relationships.
“I think it’s empowering for girls to have faith in themselves and their own ability to navigate what can be a tough world,” Francies said.
Eleventh-grade student mentors are trained in mentoring, communication and leadership skills prior to the start of the program and are chosen through teacher and guidance counselor recommendations.
Teacher facilitators are always present at the meetings to guide the group. Meetings are confidential; however, if a student shares information that would jeopardize their personal safety, the proper authorities are notified by school staff. Last year, about 60 girls were enrolled in the program.
“The beginning of the year is so difficult for the ninth-graders. They are trying to figure out who they are, so it’s great that there are older girls in the building who are there for them,” Francies said.
Girls Star co-founders Sherry Rubin, a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice in Exton, and Cherie Martin Franklin, a psychologist who has since passed away, created the program in 1997.
Currently there is also a Girls Star group at North Brandywine Middle School. According to Rubin, the program is designed as a prevention tool and to teach skills for healthy coping, conflict resolution and communication.
Often, she said the program helps spur development in both the eleventh-grade mentors and the ninth-graders who are mentored.
“A lot of the young women talk about how important it makes them feel that they have been able to make a meaningful contribution to somebody else’s life,” Rubin said.
Overall, Rubin has observed the program encourage young women to be positive, love themselves and make choices consistent with their individual values.
For more information,1 check out www.girlsstar.org.
