Girl Scout Leadership Development Program

Recommendations: August 7 & 8, 2006

DRAFT

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Core Business Strategy Charge

• Build the world’s best model of leadership development, differentiated by age, for girls from Kindergarten through High School.

• Tie activities to outcomes.

• Update language and symbols of belonging.

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Gathering Input

From January 2005-July 2006, stakeholders from across the Girl Scout community, outside experts and girls at large informed the work.

Involvement included: Program Gap Team (4 councils & National Board members) Program Advisory Team (7 councils) National Council Session (4,600 volunteers & girls at strategy cafes) Panel of 15 youth development experts Conference calls with council staff (195 councils) Work sessions at 20 councils Girls: Focus groups in 18 States with over 1,000 diverse girls (in and out of

Girl Scouts) Volunteers: Focus groups in 9 States

Spring 2006 DVD and Presentation Kits sent to all councils provided an update on the work and invited a final round of input from girls, volunteers, and staff via programideas@girlscouts.org.

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Existing Program Design

Four Program Goals

• Develop to full individual potential.

• Relate to others with increasing understanding, skill, and respect.

• Develop values to guide actions and to provide foundation for sound decision-making.

• Contribute to the improvement of society through the use of their abilities and leadership skills, working in cooperation with others.

Issues

• Not tied to compelling, clearly stated vision for girls.

• Not tied to overarching national outcomes strategy.

• Broadly interpreted and used inconsistently.

Summary of Proposed Girl Scout

Leadership Development Program

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Proposed Program DesignGirl Scout Leadership Development: Three Pillars

Discover: A Girl Scout explores her world, envisioning and preparing for a positive future.

Girls Say: “I want to be comfortable to be myself in any situation.”

Connect: A Girl Scout understands and cares about the needs of others.

Girls Say: “You can teach something to someone and they feel good and you feel better too.”

Take Action: A Girl Scout acts to make the world a better place.

Girls Say: “A leader is someone who sees something that needs to be changed and changes it."

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Leadership Skill Building

Discover:

As a Girl Scout discovers her world she:

• Develops a strong sense of self

• Gains practical and healthy life skills

• Strengthens her values

Connect: As a Girl Scout connects with others in a global community she:

• Forms caring relationships

• Promotes cooperation and team building

• Embraces diversity

Take Action:

As a Girl Scout takes action in the world, she:

• Feels empowered to make a difference

• Identifies and solves problems she cares about

• Advocates for herself and others

The Girl Scout Leadership Development pillars represent cycles of activities that engage girls in practicing leadership skills, based on the values of the Girl Scout Promise and Law.

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Long Term Outcomes

COURAGE

Girls speak out on issues they care about and exert leadership roles in their communities.

CONFIDENCE

Girls discover and cultivate their strengths and feel empowered to make a difference in their own lives and beyond.

CHARACTER

Girls act with integrity and compassion, making decisions that promote the well-being of themselves and their communities.

Through discovering, connecting, and taking action, girls become leaders who demonstrate:

As they “make the world a better place.”

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Processes: Promoting Fun

1. By girls, for girls

Girl driven

Girl-adult partnerships

2. Experiential Learning

Learning by Doing

Cycles of action and reflection

3. Cooperative learning

All-girl teams

Working towards shared goals

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Leadership In Their Own Voice

Leaders help others

achieve their dreams.

Leaders help others

achieve their dreams.

I want to be comfortable

being myself in any situation.

I want to be comfortable

being myself in any situation.

I’ll know I’ve touched

people’s lives in a good way.

I’ll know I’ve touched

people’s lives in a good way.

People will think I’m admirable.

People will think I’m admirable.

People will say I inspired

them.

People will say I inspired

them.

I will do something memorable.

I will do something memorable.

Differentiating By Age:Age Levels for the Leadership

Development Program

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Current Age Levels in Girl Scouts

• Daisy Girl Scout (grades K-1 or 5-6 years old)

• Brownie Girl Scouts (grades 1-3 or 6-8 years old)

• Junior Girl Scouts (grades 3-6 or 8-11 years old)

• Cadette Girl Scouts* (grades 6-9 or 11-14 years old)

• Senior Girl Scouts* (grades 9-12 or 14-17 years old)

* Girls 11–17 also have the opportunity to participate through the STUDIO 2B approach

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Challenges Related to Current Age Levels• Girls are bored.

• Volunteers struggle to offer age differentiated experiences.

• Retention is weak at cusp age levels; girls feel Girl Scouting is a "little kid thing" as they prepare to enter middle school.

• Flexibility of overlap (e.g. a third grader can be a Brownie or a Junior) makes consistency, progression, and differentiation difficult.

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Age Levels: Recommendation

GRADES

• grades K-1 • grades 2-3• grades 4-5 • grades 6-8• grades 9-10

• grades 11-12

Notes

K-1 girls will participate in the Cookie Program Activity.

Combining K-1 gives girls and adults opportunities to learn from each other from the beginning of the Girl Scout experience.

Grouping girls consistently by grade responds to the “social age” of girls.

Distinct age groupings (no overlap) provide real differentiation.

Levels respond to research on three distinct stages of adolescence.

High capacity councils have the flexibility and discretion to adjust for local needs.

Updating Language:Age Level Names for the Leadership Development

Program

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Messages from Research

• Girls join for friends and fun activities.

• Age level names are not what motivate girls to stay or join.

• Girls do like a ladder conveying advancement, status, and connection in a cohort.

• Current Girl Scouts have learned the ladder that existing names represent within Girl Scouts, but girls indicate the names are not the reason they remain involved.

• Slightly over 50% of current Girl Scouts wanted to keep current names.

• Girls like names that are straightforward and define the activities of a group.

• Girls consistently say that they prefer “to belong to something,” rather than "to be called a something."

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Age Level Name Possibilities

OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3**

Girl Scout Daisy Girl Scout Daisy Girl Scout Daisy

Girl Scout Brownie Girl Scout Brownie Girl Scout Brownie

Girl Scout Junior Girl Scout Pathfinder Girl Scout LL (LLEAD)

Girl Scout Juliette* Girl Scout Trailblazer Girl Scout EE (LEEAD)

Girl Scout Senior Girl Scout Navigator Girl Scout AA (LEAAD)

Girl Scout Ambassador Girl Scout Ambassador Girl Scout DD (LEADD)

*(Alternatively: Champion **Girls are ‘Girl Scouts,” moving or one word from Option 2) through leadership levels:

L-E-A-DL-E-A-D All ages wear a “Lead”

pin/patch, with the designated level highlighted.

Updating Symbols of Belonging:Uniforms

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Uniforms: Key Issues

• Sales trends reflect a lack of enthusiasm for the current uniform at most age groups.

Girls at the Daisy and Brownie age groupings have the most interest in wearing uniforms.

In practice, many girls around the country are using just one uniform item - vest, or sash - with their own clothing.

Adults are concerned with cost.

• Girls are concerned with fit, look, and style.

• As Girl Scouts strives to expand and diversify membership, current uniform policies and practices present barriers.

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Uniforms: Recommendations

Girl Scouts at each level will have one official uniform item (e.g. tunic, vest, sash) for the display of official pins and awards. This uniform item will be required when girls participate in ceremonies or officially represent the Girl Scout Movement.

Girl Scouts at the Daisy and Brownie levels will continue to have a full uniform ensemble available.

A uniform national dress code will unite girls as Girl Scouts: Girl Scouts will wear white shirts and khaki pants or skirts with their official uniform item. Girls at the Daisy and Brownie levels may choose to wear the full uniform ensemble.

Teen Girl Scouts will also have a scarf, uniting them in the WAGGGS tradition.

The adult uniform will be a scarf worn with the membership pins for women, and a tie for men. This will be required when adults participate in ceremonies or officially represent the Girl Scout Movement.

• Girl Scouts of the USA will continue to evolve and offer a range of appealing casual wear for girls and adults.

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Moving Forward

• Unite as one national Girl Scout Movement.

• Use consistent messaging tools that will be provided by GSUSA throughout the Fall.

• Send us your best practices on leadership development to incorporate into the national framework.