September 12, 2022- American Dreamer STEM Academy was awarded a grant to host an empowerment event for the female middle school students.
The grant for $941.90 is part of the Illinois Education Association (IEA) Schools and Community Outreach by Educators (SCORE) program.
The “Girls’ Day In” event will kick off October 5th with workshops that will look to encourage the young women in 7th and 8th grade to finish school, stay healthy, escape poverty, overcome violence, and make plans for the future.
“We thought it would greatly benefit some of our girls to be exposed to women in the community and different positions,” Rida Ellis, principal of American Dreamer said. “As well as expose them to a curriculum that is kind of laid out for us to rise up to some of the needs of our middle school girls.”
Ellis came up with the idea for the event, while first year counselor Maya Fombelle wrote the grant.
The event will be hosted in partnership with the Mamie D. Hayes Educational Foundation and Girl Scouts of Central Illinois.
“Any opportunity that we have to partner with the community and benefit our students at the same time, benefits the whole school,” Ellis said. “We are just excited to not only partner with some people in the community but also for our girls to see that we care about them.”
While the “Girls’ Day In” event will begin in October, a “Boys’ Days In” event is in the works, as well.
“I think maybe middle school felt like they were lost last year, because we were trying to figure out what that would look like in our building,” Ellis said. “Giving them the focus that they needed last year is kind of putting them at the forefront and giving them an opportunity to see that in middle school you are the oldest in the school, and we stand behind you as you transition to being the oldest in the school. I think they need to see that we prioritize middle school as well as elementary.”
