Charity Spotlight
Teens Offer Support to Girls
at Oak Grove Middle School By Aava Farhadi, Resident since 2005
I
n 2016, I, along with my friends Ashley Xu and Ellora Easton, co-founded Girls’ Optimal Academic Learning Society (GOALS) at Oak Grove Middle School in Concord. We founded this organization to optimize education and the school environment for underserved middle school girls by providing a safe space for both academic purposes as well as discussing relevant, personal issues. In our first meeting, we had a small attendance of three girls, but this gave us the chance to really connect with the girls as we launched our program. Three years later, we have a steady attendance of 15 individuals, and not just girls. Throughout these three years, we have taken a look at a wide range of themes including immigration, police brutality, gun violence, women’s representation in the media, mental health, and financial literacy, which we navigate through open conversations, activities, and guest speakers. Although the members of GOALS are young, they offer such unique perspectives into global issues that directly impact their community. For example, many of them are immigrants or come from immigrant families, and with the unfortunate situation many immigrants have been put in because of political goals and policies, they have expressed the constant fear and anxiety they live with. All of us come from immigrant families, though we are not immigrants ourselves, so this allows us to better understand the experiences of our own families. We also help the middle schoolers with their math and science homework and
Aava performs an experiment where she cleans a penny with salt and vinegar.
supplement their learning with science experiments and math games because an integral part of middle school is academics, of course. When first initiating the program, the administration asked us to emphasize those subjects because the majority of the student body struggle with them. And, since STEM is a male-dominated field, we believed it would be especially crucial to focus on science and math in GOALS. Starting this program early in our high school careers allowed us to develop connections with middle schoolers and watch them transition into high schoolers; it is unbelievable to think that the sixth graders we started this program with are going into their sophomore year, the year we started GOALS. Likewise, GOALS has helped us grow and develop a larger sense of community. There are so many harmful misconceptions surrounding Oak Grove Middle School: gang violence, drugs, unmotivated students. But in reality, Oak Grove is filled with bright young children ready to learn and listen to their peers’ stories, actively working on their compassion and empathy. It is important for the people in this community who push those stereotypes to reflect on the reasons they do and make the time and effort to uncover the truth.
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