Smart-Girl is a prevention and enrichment program designed to engage girls in activities that develop their social-emotional skills. Smart-Girl gives girls the chance to think about and discuss the challenges they encounter and to formulate and practice appropriate and productive responses. Through this process, Smart-Girl nurtures girls’ social-emotional intelligence and critical thinking skills – qualities proven to lead to success in life.
Each session focuses on a specific topic such as:
- Communication
- Leadership
- Critical thinking
- Assertiveness and refusal skills
- Anti-bullying
- Healthy decision making
- Smart media usage
Smart-Girl partners with schools and other youth-serving organizations to offer programs around the state. And we are reaching out on a national level. The Smart-Girl group format includes 12-15 participants, led by two facilitators called “Guides”, who are supervised and mentored by an adult Coach. The group Guides are usually “near peers,” high school junior and seniors, college-aged young women or adults from within the community. All Guides and Coaches must complete the Smart-Girl Leadership Institute – a 22-hour training course on cultural inclusivity, group facilitation and leadership – before being placed with a group.
Programs for 6th – 9th grade girls
- School Year Programs are the way most girls become Smart-Girls. The Smart-Girl curriculum is generally offered once a week in 90-minute sessions. Our curriculum is flexible and can be tailored to the needs of the organizations delivering the program. In some middle schools, Smart-Girl is offered during the school day while in others, it is offered as an after school program. Smart-Girl is also offered through clubs like the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver and in our summer camp. Be sure to check the list for a program near you or click here to learn more about starting a program.
- Smart-Girl Leadership Summer Camp is a great opportunity for girls to participate in Smart-Girl during the summer. The program is a week long day camp designed for fun and learning. Girls from all over the Denver metro area participate in silly and serious activities that promote self reflection, discussion and growth.
Click here for 2013 camp information. Registration is now live!
Programs for Young Women
Learn how to become a Smart-Girl Guide.
Programs for Adults
Smart-Girl Workshops are a great opportunity to introduce Smart-Girl into your community. We offer a variety of topics addressing parent and teacher concerns about bullying, coping skills and adolescent brain development to name just a few. Sign up for any of our workshops offered around Denver or contact us about opportunities for Smart-Girl to present at your church, club or child’s school. Workshops can be tailored for your organization or school’s staff.
Check our home page for current workshop dates.
Professional Development is important to the growth of our volunteers as well as professionals. We offer several opportunities for interactive learning and are happy to help you find the option that is right for you or your organization.
Smart-Girl Leadership Institute – The Smart-Girl Leadership Institute (SGLI) is our signature training offered for credit to undergraduate and graduate students as well as for CEU’s. It consists of 22 hours of training for those who want to lead Smart-Girl groups. Even if you are not planning to run a Smart-Girl group, you can still participate in our training. Many professionals, including counselors, teachers, camp directors and coaches, have benefitted from our dynamic presentations. [Click here] for upcoming SGLI dates.
Training for Positive Youth Development – This training has been developed for organizations working with youth that do not necessarily implement the Smart-Girl curriculum. This training can be tailored to the specific needs of your organization.
Read about lead trainer Professor Ronda Williams.
Start a Smart-Girl Program in Your Area
Smart-Girl is an excellent choice for many middle schools, high schools, nonprofits and universities. The Smart-Girl program:
- Meets the standards of the National School Counselor’s Association. In fact, we have presented twice at their national conferences, as well as at the Colorado School Counselor’s Association Conferences.
- Is research-based and tested.
- Is flexible. Sessions can be held during school, after school, once or multiple times per week, depending on how the partner would like it structured.
- Offers undergraduate and graduate credits and CEU’s for Guides and Coaches.
Smart-Girl is affordable.
- Our license fee for new programs is $1,500. This includes training four members of your team. After the first year, there is a $100 recertification fee.
- We fundraise to keep the price of Smart-Girl reasonable. We can also help your organization with grant writing.
Read about Scott Carpenter Middle School’s experience with Smart-Girl.
Smart-Girl provides:
- A guide book on how to get started.
- An intensive 22-hour training for staff and volunteers in order to implement the Smart-Girl program.
- Over 100 hours of curriculum.
- Evaluation tools.
- Support along the way.
If you’d like to learn more, please contact us today! We’ll send additional information about Smart-Girl and how to become a Smart-Girl licensed program.
