The Strong, Smart, Confident Club makes big impact on young girls

A group of fifth-grade girls were disciplined over 30 times during the school year. Gossip and mudslinging and petty arguments had them in the principal’s office on a regular basis.

Enter Casey Lipari. She left her job advertising — she had formerly worked the Food Network and Yahoo — to spend the past year as a substitute teacher. She left a glamour job when the desire to mentor young woman become a driving force in her life.

The created the Strong, Smart, Confident club — SSC for short. Once a week, she met with that group of fifth-grade girls after school. With Lipari’s guidance, the incidents of discipline for that group of girls plummeted to zero.

“I really think that an educator’s role is creating a bond with their students, and knowing what they want to accomplish and really taking care of them and knowing their goals.” — Casey Lipari

“They look out for each other [now],” sixth-grade teacher Lynn Carlson said. “They have become each other’s biggest cheerleaders and best friends.” Carlson said it is the biggest turnaround she’s seen in her 25 years of teaching.

Learn more about just how Lipari impacted this group of girls by clicking here.

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