SAGE describes waitlist and school partnership interest for adolescent-girls program

Leaders of SAGE (Saving Adolescent Girls Everywhere) described weekly programming for adolescent girls and asked Wake County Public School System staff to consider school-based partnerships to expand capacity.

Tatiana Cooper, SAGE founder and executive director, and Toni Nelson, assistant executive director, told the board the nonprofit provides weekly sessions that pair one hour of study hall with two hours of targeted programming for academic success, social awareness and professional development. The group said it primarily serves Southeast Raleigh and Downtown Raleigh and is currently serving about 30 girls with a wait list that the presenters said has grown from about 247 to about 367.

Cooper said SAGE recently secured a contract with Raleigh Parks and Recreation that covers space, transportation and a portion of operating budget, and that the organization opened a downtown Raleigh location in 2024. She described a 6‑week entrepreneurship program that has produced student entrepreneurs and said the group’s youth-board members receive a $1,000 scholarship.

Asked how a school partnership would operate, SAGE staff said the model would mirror their current program: weekly sessions that include study hall and a rotating monthly focus on social awareness, academics and professional development, with the fourth week devoted to a bonding activity. They said school-based volunteers and staff could help facilitate after-school offerings to expand capacity.

Board members and district staff encouraged SAGE to add its profile to the district partner map and to work with staff to explore pilot arrangements in schools, with the district noting the map is for internal use to help staff identify partners.