GALS Series & GALS Action

GALS Series (MS) and GALS Action (HS) are key components of the GALS School Model, and consist of deep and research based courses in social, emotional, and relational learning that parallel the adolescent development of students.  

The GALS Series/Action has proven to be a key factor to improving our students’ interactions with one another; maintaining a culture of kindness, support and respect; and providing students with coping skills and opportunities to form healthy relationships which will help lead them on a path to a healthy decision making.

The GALS Series/Action curriculum provides GALS students with the tools needed to become more aware of their individual and community identity, the skills to navigate through challenges and decisions successfully, and empowerment to drive them. 

The GALS Series curriculum at GALS Middle School encompasses 6 units: Mindfulness, Wellness, Voice, Relationships, Goals/Intentions and Identity, and classes focus on the continued development of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills utilizing grade level, Common Core standards.  In these units, outcomes are grade level normed and build on previous learning.  

• In Mindfulness, students explore: Asking for Help, Motivation and Intention, Emotional Literacy, and Emotional Expression.
• In Wellness, students explore: Mind-Body Connection, Healthy Choices, Neuroscience, and Health Sexuality. 
• In Goals/Intentions, students explore: Learning Styles, Habits, Executive Functioning, SMART Goals, and Future Self.  
• In Relationships, students explore: Centrality of Relationships, Discernment, Boundaries and Consent, Conflict in Relationships, Feedback.
• In Voice, students explore: Personal Expression, Fluency, Verbal skills, Listening.  
• In Identity, students explore: Position and Privilege, Media and Social Literacy, Diversity and Inclusion, and Core Values. 

The GALS Series course uses a series of practices to build these skills together.  These include circle protocols, journal writing, meditation and mindfulness practices, and role plays.  

GALS continues to explore the success of GALS Series through our partnership with CU Denver’s Evaluation Center, where we annually administer an efficacy survey where our middle school students tell us: 

• 96% of our students believe they will graduate from high school,
• 92% believe they will go to college,
• 92% of students say they work hard in school 
• 88% say they are a good science student,
• 82% say they are a good math student,
• 86% say they are a good reading student, 
• 85% believe they are smart
• 83% say movement in the classroom improves their ability to focus and learn
• 73% say morning movement helps them feel physically healthy

GALS Action for GALS High School partnered with Re/Scripted, a feminist consulting firm, to flesh out elements of the high school curriculum. The High School GALS Action courses allow students to grow from their understanding of self and recognize how they can impact change in the world.  

Throughout their high school experience, students build self-confidence through the lens of agency and self-efficacy. We work with students to develop a sense that they have the skills and permission to change the world – through advocating for their passions, their values, and their basic needs in a relationship. At the GALS high school, students explore how they construct, use their voice, shape their futures, and create equitable change in the world. 

In addition, our Senior Seminar and Capstone Project, required of all students, empowers students to explore  their personal interests and passions and align this to potential career and post-secondary educational options. GALS Action courses develop skills that students can practice in all aspects of their lives.

Our high schoolers tell us: 

• 98% of our students believe they will graduate from high school
• 88% believe they will go to college
• 92% of students say they work hard in school 
• 98% of students believe their teachers think they are smart 
• 83% say they are a good science student
• 82% say they are a good math student
• 82% say they are a good reading student
• 92% believe they are smart
• 81% say morning movement helps them feel physically healthy