Program Overview

Bryant Elementary School is located in Boone, a small community in central Iowa. The school counselor recognized that adolescent girls in a small town face the same issues and challenges as girls everywhere. They need support, encouragement, and help in learning skills to resist alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. Therefore, the counselor developed Bryant Girl Power!, an after-school program for fifth-grade girls that meets weekly. Bryant Girl Power! emphasizes fun, learning, and the importance of female camaraderie.

Program Format

Bryant Girl Power! club meetings start with 15 minutes of stretching and aerobics, followed by "circle time," a time for open discussion about serious issues the girls face in school and at home. The girls are encouraged to speak their minds openly and honestly. They listen to other girls' perceptions of the world around them and often record their reflections in their Girl Power! diaries.

The girls engage in role-playing exercises and perform skits about such topics as setting career goals, body image, and substance abuse prevention. They invent scenarios about potentially harmful situations and practice how they would respond to them. The skits are viewed as an important communication tool because it is often easier for young people at this age to express their feelings by playacting than by more direct means.

The program emphasizes helping the girls develop life skills such as solving problems, speaking assertively, setting goals, and handling conflict without violence. These skills are reinforced through discussions, games, and exercises. The school counselor who facilitates the Bryant Girl Power! program reports that girls who participated have shown great improvement in their overall self-esteem. Many who were shy have become more outgoing and have learned to express themselves with confidence.

Media Outreach

The Bryant Girl Power! program received recognition in the Boone News Republican, a community newspaper. The article discussed the purpose of the school-based program and noted how people in the community could help. The article generated numerous community inquiries and offers of in-kind support.

Funding

This Girl Power! program is organized by Bryant Elementary School. The school provides a place for the meetings to be held, and the counselor, the girls, and their parents contribute money and supplies as needed.

Use of Girl Power! Products

The girls who participate in the program receive Girl Power! diaries, pins, baseball caps, bookmarks, and Dominique Dawes posters. In addition, a Girl Power! Have You Got It? poster hangs in the meeting room. The program coordinator believes that the products are a great tool for recruiting girls into the program and encouraging them to remain involved.