I AM! Empowerment Group at San Jacinto High School meets with counselors and club facilitators Angela McClaron, front row left, and Alyana Arrington-Harris, far right, with about half of the club members during final exams week. Valley News/Diane A. Rhodes photo
San Jacinto High School counselors Angela McClaron and Alyana Arrington-Harris said they encountered many African American students who didn’t feel they were being seen or heard on campus. Collaborative efforts between them, school administrators and Vanessa Gomez, the district’s director of equity, helped to develop a vehicle to assist these students. I AM! Empowerment Group was created in the fall of 2018 to give African American students a voice and provide opportunities to be productive citizens in their homes, schools, communities and the world.Each student-driven meeting involves a member check-in, review of group norms and a topic of discussion.“Although an agenda is readily available, the flexibility of topic subjectivity is welcomed,” Arrington-Harris said.In a
