EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The PVAC Educational Development Committee has collaborated with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and Scholastic Reading, Inc. for the past five years to work toward enabling children to have access to books and develop an appreciation for reading.  PVAC’s Educational Development Committee is dedicated to working with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to support and actively participate in its endeavor to promote success for all students in the development of their reading skills and to foster a life-long appreciation for literacy.

The PVAC Literacy Program, a key component of its Educational Development Thrust, works with eligible schools in MCPS to provide free books and literacy resources to underserved children. For the past 6 years PVAC Educational Development committee members have worked with Clopper Mill Elementary School, an MCPS federal Title I school located in Germantown, Maryland.

PVAC Educational Development committee members meet yearly with school staff and administrators to develop an implementation program and calendar of activities which includes selecting interesting and exciting books, scheduling periodic book distributions for the entire the school year, celebrating the annual Dr. Seuss Day, reading to the kindergarten children, and a culminating, end-of-the-year recognition of all of the students for their avid participation in the Literacy Program.

The Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy

Catching the Dreams of Tomorrow, Preparing Young Women for the 21st Century: The Delta Academy was created in 1996 out of an urgent sense that bold action was needed to save our young females (ages 11-14) from the perils of academic failure, low self-esteem, and crippled futures. Delta Academy provides an opportunity for local chapters to enrich and enhance the education that our young teens receive in public schools across the nation. Specifically, we augment their scholarship in math, science, and technology, their opportunities to provide service in the form of leadership through service learning defined as the cultivation and maintenance of relationships. A primary goal of the program is to prepare young girls for full participation as leaders in the 21st Century.

DELTA GEMS: GROWING AND EMPOWERING MYSELF SUCCESSFULLY

A natural outgrowth and expansion for the continuation of the highly successful Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy: Catching the Dreams of Tomorrow, Delta GEMS was created to catch the dreams of African-American at-risk, adolescent girls aged 14-18. Delta GEMS provides the framework to actualize those dreams through the performance of specific tasks that develop a CAN DO attitude. The goals for Delta GEMS are:

  • To instill the need to excel academically;
  • To provide tools that enable girls to sharpen and enhance their skills to achieve high levels of academic success;
  • To assist girls in proper goal setting and planning for their futures in high school and beyond; and
  • To create compassionate, caring, and community-minded young women by actively involving them in service learning and community service opportunities.

The Delta GEMS program offers a road map for college and career planning through activities that provide opportunities for self-reflection and individual growth. Delta GEMS, like Delta Academy, is implemented by chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Delta GEMS participants have the opportunity to define and “Discover their individual Brilliance.”

The primary goal of the combined PVAC Delta Academy/GEMS program is to help young girls find their voices and become leaders in the 21st Century.  During the year, the PVAC Delta Academy/GEMS partnered with the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) and several Chapter Committees providing the participating 30 girls a wide variety of experiences that included:

  • STEM Engineering activity
  • Book exchange and cultural activity designed to share Guatemalan and Jamaican holiday traditions
  • Career Exploration Workshop
  • International Awareness activity
  • Financial Workshop
  • Healthy Lifestyles Workshop
  • Government Affairs Overview and Debate
  • My Choice Book Selection
  • A Pottery Workshop

Empowering Males to Build Opportunities for Developing Independence (EMBODI)

The EMBODI program is designed to refocus the efforts of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, with the support and action of other major organizations, on the plight of African-American males. Both informal and empirical data suggests that the vast majority of African-American males continue to be in crisis and are not reaching their fullest potential educationally, socially and emotionally. EMBODI is designed to address these issues through dialogue and recommendations for change and action. EMBODI addresses issues related to STEM education, culture, self-efficacy, leadership, physical and mental health, healthy lifestyle choices, character, ethics, relationships, college readiness, fiscal management, civic engagement and service learning.

During the 2017-2018 sorority year, PVAC’s EMBODI Committee partnered with the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission, Tri-Sigma Chapter, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and with several Chapter Committees to provide a variety of experiences and activities to 4th – 8th grade boys which supported:

  • Career Development
  • Cultural Development
  • International Awareness & Service Learning
  • Social Action Involvement  
  • Economic/Career Development
  • Physical & Mental Health  

Supporting Delta’s 2017-2019 biennial theme, “Joy in our sisterhood, power in our voice and service in our heart”, PVAC’s 2018-19 EMBODI Program will focus on “Power in our Voice” to address the identified issues. We will provide experiences that will encourage our young men to be comfortable using their voices to effectively express themselves as well as recognize their ability to become agents of change.

The PVAC EMBODI 2018-2019 program year will incorporate the following issues:

  • Cultural sensitivity
  • Suicide prevention
  • Substance abuse