Girls in 5th through 8th grade are invited to join Guilford Girls, a new program led by a local off-duty police officer. | Pragyan Bezbaruah/Pexels
Girls in 5th through 8th grade are invited to join Guilford Girls, a new program led by a local off-duty police officer. | Pragyan Bezbaruah/Pexels
Guilford County Preparatory Academy's new program for girls is striving to empower students while teaching leadership, self-control and self-love.
The police officer-led program is rapidly growing and aiming to manage issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Guilford Girls originally began with just five girls and now has grown to a membership of 30, according to a report by Fox 8 News.
“I guess the main purpose is just to give them something positive to do," Greensboro police officer Anis Azlan told Fox 8 News. "After speaking with a lot of the teachers at the school, it was revealed that during the pandemic, kids were staying home and they weren’t really socializing with each other."
Another goal of the program is to provide the girls with guidance and mentorship. When students returned to school after exclusively doing online learning for months, some encountered problems in school. Hands-on activities and projects were designed to deal with these issues.
Azlan assists with the group while off-duty from his police work. The students in the program are middle-schoolers between 5th and 8th grade. Activities taken on by the group include the planning of a Valentine's Day dance and a tour of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro.
Teachers at the Guilford County Preparatory Academy are touting the early success of the program.
“I’ve seen a steep decrease in arguments, fights. They’re able to cope better,” Dean of Students Scott Wood told Fox 8 News.
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