Promise

At risk (idiom)
a. in a dangerous situation or status; in jeopardy
b. vulnerable; likely to be lost or damaged

What does the term at risk mean? People who smoke are at risk for cancer. Those who don't set an alarm may be at risk for oversleeping in the morning. A driver who fails to fill the gas tank before traveling a long stretch of highway is at risk for running out of gas. But over the years, the term at risk has been used to identify or label people who are "troubled" in some way and may need intervention in order to be safe, healthy, or successful.  In the world of working with teens and youth, at risk has also developed the negative connotation of "bad kids." While there is no standard definition used in the literature about children described as at risk, the Juvenile Justice System and social services organizations might categorize a child as at risk based on the presence of several risk factors and/or lack of sufficient protective factors. While there are various programs and services to help these students, you have to wonder about the approach. It all kind of sounds like an attempt to save "damaged goods," from going bad.

Admittedly, PACE Center for Girls used the term in the past, as other well meaning and positive programs have. However, PACE has always boasted of a gender-responsive, trauma-informed, strength-based program. Brilliantly, our executive team recently began a sort of rebranding campaign.  I'm not sure how it all started but I'm excited to get behind it. The rebranding isn't just a marketing ploy, it is an attempt to more accurately and authentically explain what it is we do and what PACE is about. I recently used the term at promise girls in a blog post about some of the girls I work with. I chose not to explain the term in the post, because I knew I was working on one to devote to the discussion (this one). But I was thrilled at the reaction of some of my friends- teacher friends of course- to my use of the phrase. One of them who works with students who could easily be labeled at risk even said, "Where has this been all my life?" You see if you truly are strength-based, and at PACE we most certainly are, you see your students for all they can be. We teach them that their trauma and their pasts don't define them. We teach them to write their own future stories. We teach them that they can start over as many times as they need to, focusing on all they have to offer to themselves and the world. We believe they are at promise.

Promise (noun)
a. indication of what might be expected
b. indication of future excellence or achievement

Imagine a world where young women can learn from the past without being anchored to it. Imagine a world where we teach them better ways without punishing them for the not so good choices they once made. Imagine if we didn't pigeon hole young women by the mistakes they made or the trauma they endured in the first 1/10 of their lives. Imagine a world where our struggling young people see the promise in themselves that we see in them. And just imagine, if we promised to believe in them for all their greatness, rather than seeing them as people we needed to fix. Our girls, all girls, have promise. So from here on in, even if I have to explain what it means every time I say it, I am going to help reframe the language. When people ask me what I do or what PACE is, I am going to respond by saying we are a school for at promise girls. And if I'm asked what that means, I'll be sure to tell you.