Student Well-Being Video

Teachers, Try This: Give Middle School Girls a Space Where They Feel Like They Belong

By Lauren Santucci — February 16, 2023 5:53
Girltalk BS

Abby Ramos Stanutz, a teacher at Longfellow Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, realized that if students wanted to join an existing club at her school, they needed a skill, like playing an instrument or a sport, or they’d have to pay to join. Often, clubs required both.

So she created Girltalk, a club where middle school girls can connect with one another, feel like they belong, and talk about their experiences and challenges. The only requirement to join? Being a middle school girl.

The group meets in her classroom each week, and Ramos Stanutz provides food for each meeting as well as sweatshirts for the girls. She’s found unique sources of funding to meet these needs, and has created a page on Teachers Pay Teachers where other educators interested in starting something similar can find resources they’ll need.

She also talks about the club and her experiences with it on TikTok, where she describes creating the club as being one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.

Lauren Santucci is a video producer for Education Week.

Video

Assessment Video ‘I’m Not About Making Excuses’: Lessons From the National Principal of the Year
With this targeted approach, the National Principal of the Year improved student test scores in reading and math.
Social Studies Video What Happened as a Government Class Watched Election Returns Live
This teacher takes his AP government class to an election watch party each cycle. What that looked like this year.
Noah Lipman's AP US Government and Politics students watch election results during a class election watch party at Big Lou's Pizza in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Noah Lipman's AP US Government and Politics students watch election results during a class election watch party at Big Lou's Pizza in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Lauren Santucci/Education Week
School & District Management Video Everything You Need to Know About Electric School Buses
While electric school bus usage is growing nationally, it's not without its challenges. Here's a look at the state of transportation.
Zum electric buses are parked before a news conference announcing the Oakland Unified School District as being the first major school district in the country to use 100% electric school buses at the Zum/OUSD bus yard in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024.
Zum electric buses are parked before a news conference announcing the Oakland Unified School District as being the first major school district in the country to use 100% electric school buses at the Zum/OUSD bus yard in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Reading & Literacy Video Teaching Content and Supporting Reading Through Disciplinary Literacy
Get up to speed on what disciplinary literacy is and how teachers can start thinking about it—no matter their subject.