Bringing BIO Girls to L.E. Berger
ACCESSIBILITY TO ALL GIRLS | BIO Girls Pilot Club
Bringing BIO Girls to L.E. Berger
A pilot club that's removing barriers and changing lives.
At 7:30 on a Wednesday morning, before the hallways fill and the school day begins, you can hear them coming. Boots running across the gym floor, eager to get to the art room. Every week, without fail, it's full.
That sound, those running feet, is what this partnership is all about.
Building a generation of confident girls requires meeting them where they are. That's exactly what BIO Girls set out to do when it partnered with LE Berger Elementary School in spring 2026: one of West Fargo's Title I-eligible schools, where nearly 7 in 10 students qualify for free meals, more than four times the rate of many neighboring schools.
For families there, accessing extracurricular programs often comes with barriers that have nothing to do with interest: transportation, cost, and scheduling. The solution was simple in concept and significant in impact: condense the program to 30 minutes, move it before school, and remove every barrier we could. No transportation needed. No time away from class. No cost to families. Just girls showing up and leaving beaming.
How It Came Together
The partnership grew out of a connection made at LE Berger's Family Fall Event in August 2025, where BIO Girls staff volunteered. Shortly after BIO Girls staff reached out to Bethany McRaith, School Social Worker, about the possibility of collaborating. What followed was a creative reimagining of what a BIO Girls experience could look like in a school setting, a 'club' format without the physical activity component, thoughtfully adapted to fit the school's community and context.
"I truly believe LE Berger said 'YES!' because of the creativity and passion the BIO Girls staf showed in finding ways to remove barriers so our learners could access a positive community organization."
- Bethany McRaith, LBSW, School Social Worker, LE Berger Elementary
Goals and Progress
Bethany came in with clear goals: help girls build emotional regulation skills, healthy coping strategies, and positive peer relationships. Those goals, she says, have been met in ways she could see and feel week after week.
"It has been really powerful to watch our learners practice breathing techniques, talk through what positive friendships look like, and work on seeing situations from another person's perspective," she shared. "Our girls are excited to go to club each week and are beaming when they leave. They know that they count, and BIO Girls has played a big part in that."
Small Moments, Big Meaning
The most powerful proof often comes in the smallest moments. Since programming began, Bethany has personally witnessed:
Two girls from different grades high-fiving in the hallway, both wearing their BIO Girls hats after a session.
Girls talking about practicing empathy, literally putting on each other's shoes, during club.
A parent emailing to share that her daughter said she "actually made a friend!" through BIO Girls.
A teacher reporting that the girls in her class come in excited to share what they learned at that morning's session.
Trailblazers. Wave Makers.
Bethany described the girls of LE Berger not just as participants in a pilot, but as pioneers. "The trailblazers, the wave makers," she called them, noting that their school was part of something bigger, something that could open doors for girls in communities across the region.
"I am truly grateful to BIO Girls for taking this chance on us and piloting this programming. I would enthusiastically advocate for this program."
- Bethany McRaith, LBSW, School Social Worker, LE Berger Elementary
This partnership is one example of how BIO Girls is living out its newly defined bold goal: building a generation of confident girls. By being accessible, before the school bell, in the schools themselves, they are ensuring that a girl's zip code or family situation never determines whether she gets to know her own worth.
BIO Girls welcomes support from individuals, organizations, and community partners who share the commitment to building a generation of confident girls. To learn more about giving, partnership, or strategic collaboration opportunities, please contact us at biogirls.org/contact.
To learn more about BIO Girls’ bold goal & pathways, head to www.biogirls.org/bold-goal