Operating a Best Friends program requires a long-term commitment of time and resources. Since Best Friends is a program operated by educators during the school day, the school principal should be an enthusiastic and active supporter of the program. Communities interested in beginning a Best Friends Program in their schools should first identify the elementary or middle school where the program should begin and discuss the program with the school principal. Please contact the National Program Manager at the Best Friends Foundation for application information.

The application for a Best Friends program should be submitted with letters of support from the superintendent of schools and the school principal. The Foundation's board selects school systems to operate Best Friends programs on the basis of their educators' enthusiasm for the Best Friends messages and the long-term commitment of resources to provide the curriculum to the girls through high school.

When a school system enters into a licensing agreement with the Best Friends Foundation, it agrees to provide the program model to girls beginning in the sixth grade and continuing on through middle school (eighth grade). School systems are then encouraged to begin the high school Diamond Girl Leadership program on Saturdays. The Best Friends program model requires that monthly curriculum discussions are conducted during the school day, that mentors are on-site school personnel, that educators delivering the program are trained in the curriculum, and that they use the curriculum materials developed by the Foundation.

The school district agrees to secure financial and community support needed for the program's effectiveness. Support may come from many sources, including donations from individuals and corporations, funds allocated by the local school board, and grants from community and national foundations. Best Friends programs may be supported by funding for character education, drug and prevention, AIDS prevention, and public health grants awarded by state and local governments.

Best Friends programs may operate in public, private, and religious schools. To obtain additional information on the Best Friends and Diamond Girl Leadership programs, contact the Foundation at:

Best Friends Foundation
5335 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 440
Washington, DC 20015
Phone: (202) 478-9677
Fax: (202) 478-9678

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