UW-GB Program Promotes Higher Ed. for African American Girls

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A new program at UW-Green Bay is exposing a group of girls to college. The week-long camp is specifically designed for African Americans who may not get much encouragement to continue their educations after high school graduation.

A group of 13 middle schoolers is in a garden area on UW-GB’s campus. They’re on campus for a week taking part in a pilot program called “Black Girls Rock.”

It’s the brainchild of Juliet Cole, the university’s Associate Director for the Institute for Learning Partnerships. Basically she works to connect school districts to the resources of the university.

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She says African American kids are over-represented in special education classes, and not many are in advanced placement. She wants to change that.

Cole worked with two Green Bay middle schools to reach out to girls who wanted to come to the camp, “We’re not looking at those who are academically gifted. We want those we are motivated, who are interested. Who are willing to learn. We want it to be something they really want to do.”

Alexus Moore-Farmer is going into the eighth grade, “I love school and getting a bigger experience of college.”

Moore-Farmer wants to become a teacher. Plus she likes being able to hang out with girls her age, “I live with two boys. And mostly it’s about the boys and I don’t have anyone else to play with.”

Black Girls Rock uses the principles of Kwanzaa to teach the girls about working together and looking out for each other. It’s partly funded by a grant from the Department of Public Instruction.