Rosa Parks Elementary School Site Programs Best Friends Best Friends is a youth development program with a character-building curriculum for adolescent girls which takes place during school hours utilizing the talent and generosity of school principals, teachers and women from the community. Girls are randomly selected to become part of Best Friends in fourth grade and will continue the curriculum through graduation from high school. The program features: A clear abstinence-only message A multi-faceted curriculum with long-term adult involvement An intensive peer support structure based on friendship This program is initiated, operated and financed on a local level. Elayne Bennett began the Best Friends Program in 1987 and today many of the girls who began with the program are now in college, some on scholarships. During the 1998 school year there were more than 4,000 girls participating nationwide in 75 schools and 25 cities nationwide. We began our Best Friends Program in the Fall of 1999 with a randomly selected group of 40 girls in grade 4. Bridges Cohort The Bridges Cohort was formed in 1998, as a collaborative effort between the San Diego Unified School District, Price Charities and San Diego State University, to research the effects of looping on the academic and social issues surrounding the education of 140 students, seven teachers and one resource teacher. A social worker was added to the team the following year. Traditionally looping has been conducted on a two year rotation whereby the teacher followed the same group of students from one grade to the next and then returned to his/her former grade level assignment to follow another group of students for two years, hence the name "looping". The Bridges Cohort is unusual however in that the original 140 children will continue with the same teachers throughout their elementary school years, Kindergarten through Fifth grades for a total of six years. Healthy Start Planning Grant Summary of our Planning Grant Initiative Healthy Start represents a way for Rosa Parks Elementary and our collaborative partners to develop long-term, comprehensive, integrated school-linked services and supports. We see our primary role as the administrators of a Healthy Start Planning Grant that develops and supports a process that will heavily involve the parents, families and children in understanding the City Heights community, assessing individual needs and strengths, identifying resources that are available and resources that are needed, nurturing and expanding collaborative networks, developing and monitoring evaluation systems, and acting as an advocate for the students and their families. Our Healthy Start Planning Grant will: Expand the strong collaborative that was developed three years ago during the planning stages of our new elementary school and currently exists between parents, staff, students, neighborhood representatives and school district members, as well as increase the involvement of community service providers. Discover what is most important to our children and their families, what they want and need to succeed in school, in the community and in life through focus groups, questionnaires, meetings, individual interviews, and discussions with community leaders and cultural group associations. More information on California Department of Education Healthy Start program and resources. Rosa Parks Village Rosa Parks Village is a program in which children learn the curriculum through real world situations. Students use money in simulated or real markets using products created with the skills they learn through the regular curriculum. An economy based classroom model, similar to a program called "Micro-Society", has been expanded to include all grade levels at some degree of participation during the 1999-2000 school year. The economic element of the program includes a central treasury which houses teacher and support staff accounts based on Rosa Parks "bucks". One buck is equal to one penny of real money. The coordination of banking issues are handled by participating fifth grade classrooms. Home | School Information | School Site Pages & Projects | Library Media Center | Partnerships & Community Resources