A Glimpse at New Schools: G.A.L.S. for Girls in Denver
If the Denver Post can take a glimpse, so can I. Not that I am excited by the prospect of taking a glimpse at a school full of icky girls. But here goes anyway….
About 120 sixth- and seventh-grade girls who enrolled in the Girls Athletic Leadership School now inhabit the third floor of Calvary Temple, near Cherry Creek mall.
G.A.L.S. is the only single-gender public school in Colorado, aimed at empowering girls and providing them opportunities denied in a co-ed setting.
Interesting factoid about the Girls Athletic Leadership School. What a clever acronym, too. Maybe it’s time for an all-boys charter school. Let’s call it the Gents United Youth School (G.U.Y.S.). I’m all about equity and balance, you know. Anyone with me on starting G.U.Y.S.?
(Seriously, given its unique status and the 120 Denver-area girls it serves, I do wish the G.A.L.S. all the best.)
Anyway, as the Post story points out, the school is focused on serving a poorer, minority student population with the Expeditionary Learning program. But the school’s website also explains that the mission and long-term goals are bigger than just Denver:
The mission of The Girls Athletic Leadership Schools (GALS) is to develop a national brand of public girls’ schools predicated on best practices in gender-based and active learning. The schools provide an innovative and necessary educational option that engages health and wellness as a key-contributing factor in optimizing academic achievement and self-development.
The school has opened this year with 6th and 7th grade girls, so it’s obviously too late to get on board this year. But families interested in applying through the charter school lottery for next year can connect with the school on the enrollment page.
Other new schools for 2010-11: