The G.A.P. (Girls’ Achievement Project) Program is for girls-only, safe-space gatherings that meet twice weekly after school, during school and/or on Saturdays within the community.  The goals of the program are to increase high school graduation and college acceptance rates and to build leadership skills, and healthy behaviors among Delaware’s girls of color.  A typical session features a guided conversation led by an Adult Program Coordinator and an assisting Teen Facilitator.  Topics might include school, relationships with family, friends and boys, careers, health or whatever the girls identify as pressing issues for them.  The program addresses the interconnected issues of poverty, teen pregnancy, violence, and lack of educational attainment at their very roots, by working with the girls during the critical teen years, when personal choices that are made can have lifelong consequences.  Through The G.A.P. Program girls learn a process for setting, working toward, evaluating, and reaching tangible goals.  These are skills essential to success in school, work and life.  Additional program elements include ongoing academic support, guest speakers, and field trips.