Friday, December 05, 2008 Posted by Hal Donofrio
CFOC helping transform futures at a Baltimore School
November 2008, Baltimore, MD – A revolution is underway at Rosemont Elementary/Middle School. As the streets of West Baltimore threaten to consume children’s futures with lures of sex, violence and drugs, another powerful tool is claiming them back.
Campaign for Our Children (CFOC) has partnered with Rosemont to support its students through social events and implementation of the PINK program for middle school girls.
In February 2008, CFOC sponsored a Father/Son Breakfast at Rosemont. The Saturday event was attended by 237 boys and men and served as a catalyst for the school’s burgeoning mentorship program, The Young 500. The following week, a dozen fathers arrived at the school ready to volunteer their time. A leader for the mentorship program was chosen, and the boys, many struggling to find positive male role models, embarked on a new path of guidance and opportunity.
The infectious energy of that day left the girls wanting an event of their own. CFOC again offered its support for a Mother/Daughter Luncheon in May. The gathering featured inspirational speakers, and spotlighted the girls who are involved with the PINK program, the heart of CFOC’s support of Rosemont.
The PINK program, created by CFOC in 2002 and promoted through billboards in the Baltimore market and others around the country, promotes abstinence among middle school girls, and helps them focus on what they can achieve if they don’t get pregnant. According to Rosemont’s Director Sandra Ashe, PINK has had a strong influence on girls in the school. She says it’s about more than just saying no to sex. “We’re seeing a whole paradigm shift in how they think about their bodies,” she says. “They’re changing their thinking patterns. They’re focusing on the future. We’re breaking the cycle of our teenage girls getting pregnant.”
This year, 16 girls are participating in Rosemont’s PINK program. They meet weekly with school counselor Nakiya Claiborne. Claiborne, who has a background in mental health and foster care, has a strong rapport with the girls. She radiates youthful energy and enthusiasm and spends time with the girls outside of school. She says that the PINK program gives her the tools she needs to help shape and guide the girls. “The (PINK) billboards help. The girls see them and they’re all about virginity. But in the group it’s not just about sex. We talk about good decision making, setting short- and long-term goals for their education and their careers. We talk about how the decision to engage in sexual activity can make it harder to achieve their goals,” she says.
Claiborne says that the lesson plans provided by PINK “provide a framework, and then we tweak it for the needs of the girls, or current events.”
For many girls, PINK means a chance to change patterns that have been passed down for generations. “We’re molding and shaping the girls,” says Ashe. “And we’re doing the same for the parents because they never received this support. This is where we break the chain.”
Ashe goes on to say, “There’s a conflict between home values and what we’re teaching here. We say, ‘Let me show you a different option.’” She describes mothers, many of whom had babies as teenagers, surrendering to the idea that all teens have sex. She says that girls in the PINK program are starting to tell their mothers, “We don’t do that.”
Coppin State University, which has operated the school under a charter since 1997, provides nurses to talk with parents about health issues in an effort to prevent them from passing down their misconceptions about sex.
Adding to the challenges the girls face, Ashe notes that many of her students are saddled with adult responsibilities at a young age. “Kids in this neighborhood are often in charge of other facets of life,” she says. “They’re already parenting younger siblings. They think they’re ready to be parents because they’re already tasked as caregivers.”
Claiborne tackles these issues with optimism about what the girls can achieve. “I love middle-school age kids,” she says. “They’re old enough to run with it when you give them direction, but they’re still impressionable and receptive to what you’re saying.” She also recognizes one of the big obstacles school counselors face. “We quickly broke the stigma of meeting with the counselor,” she says. “It’s totally cool to be part of PINK. We meet on different issues; it’s not just about sex. I tell the students to come to me not just with problems, but to share good things that are happening, too.”
Ashe agrees, “Ms. Claiborne does a good job of getting them to think beyond middle school.” Coppin State also helps by enrolling many Rosemont graduates in a high school, Coppin Academy, located on the university’s campus. Students can earn college credits there, forming a bridge to their higher education.
As a sign of PINK’s success, Ashe points to the fact that, in a population where she might expect two or three pregnancies a year among eighth graders, last year Rosemont had none.
The PINK program has also helped foster positive peer pressure among the girls. Ashe describes a 14-year-old who was being pressured by her boyfriend to have sex. When her PINK friends found out, they told Claiborne and Ashe. “Her peers wouldn’t let her rest,” says Ashe. “They said, ‘We made a pact!’ Before we were doing the PINK program that would not have been the case.”
Ashe shares credit for the program’s success. “I sensed this passion in Hal Donofrio (Executive Director of CFOC) for helping young children to finish school and achieve their dreams,” she says. “Before the PINK program, we didn’t have a tool. Hal (and CFOC) brought us a concrete way to guide our girls. The PINK program gives us the tools. It’s up to us to give it the legs.”
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