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New Scouts

In Costa Mesa, California, eight girls from a new Scouts BSA troop pose for a photo. KEVIN SULLIVAN—MEDIANEWS GROUP/ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER/GETTY IMAGES

The Boy Scouts have been teaching leadership skills to kids for more than a hundred years. Now, the Boy Scouts are opening up to girls. On February 1, the first group of girls, ages 11 to 17, joined a new program. It is called Scouts BSA. “I could not be more excited,” Michael Surbaugh said in a statement. He is chief scout executive of Scouts BSA.

Cub Scouts is the organization’s program for younger kids. It has been welcoming girls since last year. So far, more than 77,000 girls have joined. Alex Sobtzak is a parent of scouts. “I am so excited that my daughters will have the same opportunities as my sons,” he says.