Dear Friends:

When a seventh grader offers you all the money in his bank account—$25.00, as well as what he plans to make during the summer—another $10.00—because he knows you need funding to return to his school, you know your program has succeeded. And you know you’ll never forget him or his generosity.

At the emPOWERment project, all we want for the 2012 is the opportunity to return in February  to Nathan Hale Magnet Middle School to students like Daniel and introduce our program “Respect and Manners at School and Work” to the new seventh graders. With your help, we just may get our wish! Best of all, most of our former students at Hale told us through their evaluations that they want to help us improve the younger students’ self-respect and respect for others. Together, all of us have an amazing opportunity to further develop and sustain a culture of respect at Hale.

Program Value

Daniel wasn’t the only student who recognized the value of the emPOWERment project’s program. When asked on the evaluation how their attitude and behavior had changed, students wrote heartening comments such as these:

 --- I’m more caring of others’ feelings.

 --- I used to be so disrespectful to teachers but I worked on it.

 --- I now am polite and don’t have an attitude.

What were their favorite sessions? Respectful Relationships was one. Why? “So we won’t be in a relationship we will regret.” Making Good Decisions was another popular class because they learned, as one seventh grader so eloquently put it, “If you make a bad decision, it will mess with your life.”

And what exactly did they learn? In their own words:

--- You have to give respect to get it.

--- I have to use respect all the time.

--- To be my best, one second at a time.

An Innovative and Replicable Model

Although we were thrilled with our students’ responses to our sessions and speakers, we came to realize that our original model is not sustainable for a variety of reasons. Consequently, we have kept all the well-received and effective program content and developed an innovative and replicable model of delivery we hope to implement at Nathan Hale from February to May 2012. We believe it combines the best aspects of classroom teaching with those of video instruction and peer-to-peer learning to offer concept clarification, reinforcement, and flexibility throughout all nine sessions. 

Students will be encouraged to form and practice habits of respect daily that will lead to increased self-worth and self-confidence, respectful attitudes and behavior toward others, good manners, optimism about personal success, and paths to achievement.

Among the anticipated program outcomes are reduced physical violence, verbal abuse and bullying, as well as improved grades and attitudes.

This sustainable model is looked at favorably by OPS because it encourages greater collaboration with Nathan Hale and gives students expanded opportunities to shape discussions and activities based on the video instruction. OPS and EP have discussed the possibility that the OPS ANGEL network could be used to make the videos available to all students at Hale and, possibly, to make this program available throughout the district. Some sessions may also be made available on youtube.com.

For the Seventh Graders

During an initial assembly for all new seventh graders, students will meet EP principals and learn the focus, content and organization of the program and their part in it. Each week they will receive a new video (unless the ANGEL network is used to present the video material through the OPS system) targeting another respect topic, such as Respect and Sports or Respectful Conflict Resolution. Supplemental handouts, stories, and other reinforcement materials and exercises, such as writing about other students’ respectful actions and taking part in receiving lines, will be made available.

For the Eighth Graders

Eighth graders, our former students, also will attend an assembly, theirs to remind them of the subjects we studied together and of the role models they can be to the seventh graders. Each eighth grade class may be paired with a seventh grade class for an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and modeling.

We are looking to the eighth graders to give this term’s EP program some sizzle and believe they are just the kids who can do it! At their assembly, they will be invited to write throughout the coming weeks of respect and leadership experiences they have had since we last were together and submit them to us. They also may submit poems or black-and-white art. Based on what they learned about respect of self and others during our sessions, the stories, poetry, and art will then be compiled, edited and printed, becoming a book for distribution school-wide. Becoming a published author or artist and receiving the attention it brings is sure to boost student self-esteem.

Remembering how popular the respect rap was that Mrs. King taught her students, we will invite eighth graders to immerse themselves in each week’s respect topic by writing, if they choose, rap lyrics. After collecting these lyrics for a month, the EP principals will choose five sets of lyrics to be given to the student groups that want to perform. A student assembly will vote on the respect rap to be performed at the graduation ceremony, and possibly be made into a CD or put on youtube.com.

The Future

Through our new and exciting model, we have a unique opportunity to raise the respect bar again at Nathan Hale and engage the entire school in becoming more respectful and reaping the tremendous benefits from such respect. But to do this, we must have our funding needs met.

Many individuals had to “sign off” on our new sustainable plan before we could introduce it to you. Individuals at OPS and Nathan Hale, as well as videographers, some of our video speakers, and partners, such as Metropolitan Community College had to buy into the new concept and they did, but it took time for us to “get our ducks in a row.” Now our funding needs are immediate.

Please send the emPOWERment project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your most generous tax deductible contribution, so we can return to the students we so respect and value. (Payment by credit card or PayPal is available on our web site at www.empowermentusa.org. Checks may be mailed to the EP address below. )

If we are able to return to Nathan Hale, we promise to take the lead from one of our former students who stated when asked what he would always remember from our sessions: “To do good and to try my best