It’s 8:30 a.m. on a Friday and the doors to Campbell Hill Elementary School won’t open for another hour. A few administrators and teachers roam around, busily preparing for the day and wondering when their weekends will start.

Right up the flight of stairs, 20 third-grade girls sit in a circle, playing what seems to be a theater game called “Dominos.” After a couple rounds, the group gets into the groove of the game and soon, their sleepy faces awaken and the giggles and squeals fill the ghost-like hallway.

Alycia Mitchell, special education support specialist at the school, stands up from her place in the circle and announces, “Now, we’re going to do a little skit. It’s called the ‘Friendship Problem.’” She solicits the help of a few of the girls, then disappears behind the corner.

The actors emerge, laughing and talking like a tight-knit group of third-grade girls. One of the actors stands far away, wishfully looking at the clique. She reacts hurt and sad after overhearing snide remarks the group was makes about her.

“And, scene!” cries Mitchell.

A round of applause, and everyone except for Mitchell takes their seat in the circle.

“What are some words you would use to describe what you saw?” Mitchell asks.

One by one, the girls call lists words like “mean,” “bully,” “exclusion,” and “left out,” to which Mitchell responds, “Yes,” “Correct,” and “Wow, that’s a powerful word.”

“I wanted something visual for you to see,” Mitchell explains to the girls who watch her carefully. “I want you guys to know how it feels to be that person.”

Every Friday morning, Mitchell meets with this group of third- grade girls for a program she calls H.Y.P.E. — Helping Youth Possess Empowerment. In their one-hour session each week, Mitchell attempts to teach these girls about self empowerment, dreaming about the future and becoming responsible citizens in their community through activities, skits, arts and crafts, and pep talks.

H.Y.P.E. was birthed out of a need Mitchell noticed in the 9- and 10-year-olds.

“I’m noticing that some girls are becoming more catty,” says Mitchell. “They have attitude.”

She says that many of these girls come from various backgrounds, including low-income houses, crime-ridden neighborhood and broken families and those circumstances can affect the way they treat themselves and their peers.

“Sometimes they don’t have a lot of confidence when dealing with situations,” she explains. “I want them to be able to stand up for themselves. I want them to coexist an take pride in everything that’s around them. I want them to take pride in school. I want them to take pride in their community. They need to learn to take action themselves rather than waiting for things to fall into place.”

And while the program is only a few weeks old, Mitchell says that she is already observing differences in many of the girls.

“It amazes me. Every week, I see a difference in them,” she says. “They expect more from themselves, and that’s what I want.”

She says she quantifies success by the stories and feedback she hears from other teachers and parents, stories of the girls refusing to gossip, becoming more inclusive and actively being more involved in helping others.

For Mitchell, this program is only in its infant stages. Her goal is to expand it to the rest of the schools in the district, include other grade levels, starting a mentoring and tutoring unit and hopefully see it evolve and impact the entire city, and then some.

“I don’t want to run this program, I want to be part of the program,” she says.

Mitchell’s impact is clearly etched on the faces of the girls who are sitting in the circle on the second floor of Campbell Hill. And as she explains the importance of friendship and inclusivity, the students fixate their eyes on her, drinking her words like it’s cool water.

“You guys amaze me every week,” Mitchell says slowly and intentionally, trying her best to look into each of the girls’ eyes. “You give me what is in your heart.”

She wraps up the class after a craft session and the girls scurry away to their classes. As Mitchell cleans up after the girls, one of her students stays back and asks if she can help. She smiles and says yes.

Mitchell knows that through H.Y.P.E., she is spreading the seeds of empowerment and resilience in these girls. But the student who asked if she can help clean up? She is a sign of that seed sprouting.