• The Sisters Program
• Girls Sports Day
• TheCRLS Young Women's Commission
• Year of the Young Woman
• Teen Girls Well-Being Project

The Women’s Commission is collaborating with Julia Perez and the Cambridge School Department on this afterschool and summer program for approximately 50 girls in the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th grades at three elementary schools. The specific role of the Commission has been to work with the program’s director to develop a Leadership Program for a small group of participants to increase their ability to play leading roles in the program and in the community.

The Sisters Program has been awarded grants from the Fireman Fund and the federal Women's Educational Equity Act Program to expand its projects into additional Cambridge Public Schools.

To sign up for the Sisters Program or for more information:   349-6602

The Young Women's Commission at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School has completed its sixth full school year with more than 100 young women and a few young men planning and attending programs. The group explores issues through film showings, student-led discussions and featured speakers and presents an annual all-school assembly featuring an original play and cultural performances. The recent theme was "Welcome to the Doll's House," a play about the role of the Barbie Doll in the lives of girls from many cultures.

On May 18, 1999, the Commission co-sponsored the Third Annual Girls' Sports Day.  Every fifth grade girl was released from the city's public schools and bused to the MIT playing fields to participate in her choice of ten different sports clinics as part of the efforts to encourage girls to take part in physical activities for personal and social health. CRLS School Nurse and professional aerobics instructor Tracy O’Connell led the 300 girls in aerobic warm-ups to begin the day. During the lunch break, CRLS Basketball Coach, Leslie Davis spoke about the role of sports and physical fitness in changing the direction of her life.  The event is a collaboratation  with the Mayor’s Office, the School Department and Human Services Department to produce the third annual Fifth Grade Girls' Sports Day.

The Commission has collaborated with the Mayor's Office to implement her Executive Order declaring 1996-97 school year the "Year of the Young Woman" in Cambridge. Events included a City Hall reception to honor adult women who work with girls in the community and "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" on April 24, 1996 which featured a City Hall program to bring together girls who had accompanied their mothers to work in city agencies with women department heads and senior administrators.

The Commission worked with Harvard professor emerita, Rose Frisch, to develop and implement a before- and after-school physical activity program for Freshman and Sophomore girls at CRLS who were not involved in sports in any way. The girls were offered dance, crew, basketball and weight training classes and responded to questionnaires before and after the program about their daily routines and attitudes toward health and physical activity. Dr. Frisch will study the results of the project as part of the School Department's efforts to understand how girls can enhance their self-confidence and physical health. Dr. Frisch's studies have demonstrated that girls who are physically active are less likely to have unwanted pregnancies. The Women's Commission continues to work with the School Department to develop increased opportunities in physical activity and health during and after school at the elementary and secondary levels.