The primary goal of MANA’s HERMANITAS® Program is to encourage Hispanic adolescent girls to stay in school, live healthy lives and pursue high academic and career goals. This program offers middle and high school girls a year-long curriculum that focuses on helping them succeed in life, raise their self-confidence and expectations for the future, develop their leadership skills, set and meet goals to realize their potential and start them on their road to a career that matches their skills and passion. The process involves partnering with their families, schools, community and other organizations.
In the few last years, we have devoted much time to developing an outstanding curriculum that not only teaches the principles of success and planning for college and a career, but also character development and healthy living.
Thus far, we have worked with cohorts of 15-20 Latina students at various middle schools in Vista Unified and Carlsbad Unified School Districts. As of May of 2013, five cohorts of girls had met the requirements to “graduate” from the program. In our data collection process, we have seen the girls increase their G.P.A. (grade point average) as well as their levels of confidence. They have also become more involved in their school and community through performing community service hours. Each of the girls completing the program has made plans to attend college and has identified a career they plan to pursue. The school staffs have noticed another distinct improvement in the girls: they are no longer passive learners and they are excited about their futures. For this reason, the school districts have requested that we expand our services.
MANA 