The Benton Harbor Girls Academy (BHGA) offers broad-based knowledge and superior education that empower young girls to better themselves and their community.
The Benton Harbor Girls Academy was created by the Benton Harbor Girls Association for Learning & Self-esteem (BHGALS), a non-profit corporation dedicated to enriching the educational opportunities of middle school girls in the Benton Harbor community. BHGALS aims to foster growth and development in girls from 4th through 8th grades, when they are most at risk of disengaging in education.
During these four years, BHGALS looks forward to providing the support and enriching experiences fundamental to the growth of young girls. In addition to academics, BHGALS works to develop in each girl the self-confidence, self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-efficacy needed to be independent and self-reliant young women.
Our Academy offers non-graded, single-sex classes featuring individualized instruction and The Workshop Way. The day begins at 8:00am and ends at 6:00pm. This focused, supportive environment encourages students to participate and take risks in the classroom to begin building a strong vision for their future.
Traditional classwork is augmented by multicultural perspectives, information on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) experiences and careers, arts and visual performance, learning Spanish, achievements of African American women and physical activities. Extra curricular activities offer academic and arts enrichment as well as homework time. Summer Girls Discover programs include reading enrichment, STEM and arts sessions, and planting, cultivating, and harvesting a vegetable garden.
Corporate and Auxiliary Boards
Corporate/Academy Board
Patricia Ann Quattrin Ph.D. — President:
Mary Anne Lischer — Secretary
Heather Marschke CPA — Treasurer
Margaret Clayborne — Lakeland Hospital Outreach
Sister Mary Anne Dalton CSJ, Ph.D. — Director, Workshop Way
Jerri Gavin – Retired Second Baptist Church Secretary
Hildegard Molter — Retired Teacher
Dr. Cathleen E. Taylor Ph.D. — Senior Staff Chemist
Benton Harbor Girls Academy Staff
Dr. Patricia Ann Quattrin Ph.D., Director
dr.patriciaquattrin.bhga@gmail.com
Audrey Pringle, Secretary
secretary.bhga@gmail.com
Auxiliary Board
Kathy Burczak – Landscape Architect
Joseph Chopan – Video Creator
Nan Beaty – Building Property Donation
Stephanie Blommel – Photographer
Bryan Cady –Website Manager
Charlene Durfee — Newsletter
Barbara J. Konopka – Fund Raiser Volunteer
Jenna Mammina – Fund Raising Performer
Andy Mollison — Architect
Darlene Mosher — Non-Profit Advisor
Mark Miller – Attorney
Princella Tobias — Benton Spirit Editor