Humble ISD Education FoundationHumble ISD Education Foundation

Your Support in Action

Every day, all across Humble ISD, students are engaging in innovative and creative learning because of your support. As partners in support of public education, excellence in education continues in Humble ISD!

Below are just a few examples of the exciting projects that are funded through your donations. Read and be proud of what our teachers are doing and who our students are learning to become because of you!

Girl T.A.L.K. (Teaching Appropriate Lifelong Skills to Kids)
Counselor helps girls develop positive self-image and anti-bullying strategies

When girls face challenges, they need the skills to meet them head-on.  Pine Forest Elementary Counselor Jennifer Vandenbrook saw a need to implement a program “focused on creating positive change in peer relations within the female population of our school,” to develop those skills.  A grant funded by the Humble ISD Education Foundation has helped tackle these issues by

Second graders Alexis Chapuseaux and Katelynn Mongarro go Back-to-Back to support each other in this exercise to build trust and teamwork.

supporting D.I.V.A.’s Day Out events for 2nd through 5th grade girls.  Another event, “Coffee with the Counselor,” gave parents and staff members a chance to learn about “Relational Aggression: Bullying in the Girl’s World.”  The school also hosted an Anti-Bullying Awareness Night for parents.  “Bullying, it’s not just in the boys’ world,” Ms. Vandenbrook exclaimed. 

It is not only physical bullying that impacts young girls, “insecurity, fear, jealousy and power are just some of the key motivators of behavior displayed when girls bully,” says Vandenbrook. The toll of emotional and social bullying is devastating and often not reported or noticed until it is too late.   Only 15% of girls who are bullied ever report it, while one-third of all girls are involved as bully or victim.

Key to the success of this effort is making parents, staff and students aware of the negative effects of relational aggression.  Next, girls need to be provided with the necessary tools to reduce the effects of bullying.  Classroom guidance lessons are the heart of this element of the program, including training related to all three of the participants in a bullying incident…the bully, the bullied and the bystander.  The last two components of Girl T.A.L.K. are small group and individual counseling sessions.  Ms. Vandenbrook works with girls to strengthen their friendship skills and empowers them to make positive behavior choices that will lead to treating themselves and others with respect.

 

Among the many activities the students have participated in, Ms. Vandenbrook pointed to an exercise where girls made a single paper chain link.  Each student wrote one thing they could do to change their school for the better on the link.  When all the links are joined together and each of the small changes accomplished, the girls are asked to think what a different environment will be created.  Another self-esteem builder occurred when each girl was asked to verbally express something they liked about the girl next to them.  This happens while the student being praised holds a mirror.  Affirmation by peers can have incredible positive outcomes.

The acronym D.I.V.A. comes from the key lessons learned.  DIVAs are Determined to reach their goals, Individuals who celebrate their uniqueness, Victorious in conquering their fears and Always respectful to others.  All of these lessons are helping build a confident young person which will greatly increase the chances for academic and social success in years to come.

Sonny Bivens, 2nd grader, beams while hearing compliments from others in this small group setting focused on building self-esteem.  Each girl holds a mirror while others identify positive character traits she has demonstrated at school.

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To read more innovative projects your donation to the Humble ISD Foundation supports, please click here.