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LAS Extended Studies

Photograph of young woman

SMART-GIRL
Become a guide, or start a program
in your community!

Smart-Girl is a Colorado non-profit organization that inspires middle school girls to make smart choices and become confident, capable and self-reliant young women. Smart-Girl is open primarily to 6th and 7th grade girls from all economic and cultural backgrounds. The program addresses the shared challenges of all adolescent girls, from the inner city, to the suburbs and rural communities.

Even the most prepared middle school girls are faced with making challenging and unprecedented decisions. Many of the choices made at this stage will have a significant impact on their future-whether to pursue math, science and technology, whether to use drugs or alcohol, whether to accept unhealthy or abusive relationships. Smart-Girl was created to provide girls with problem-solving skills and strong characteristics that will enable them to champion these challenges.

The Women's Studies Program at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will give you the help and training you need to make a difference in the lives of middle-school-age girls in your community. The training courses detailed below will introduce you to the Smart-Girl curriculum, program and methods. You'll gain valuable leadership, facilitation, program management, and conflict management skills.

 

UPCOMING COURSES

SMART-GIRL LEADERSHIP TRAINING
offered every August and January at UCCS and sporadically in Denver
2 UCCS Credit Hours: $250 undergraduate (WMST 390) or $400 graduate (SOC 501)
Colorado high school students registering for the Leadership Training must also submit the 2-page Colorado Statewide Agreement Form
($125 non-credit option; contact Smart-Girl, Inc for details)

Spring 2009 Session:
Dates/Times TBA
Location: UCCS campus, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO, Room TBA

SMART-GIRL GROUP FACILITATION
3 UCCS Credit Hours: $375 undergraduate (WMST 490) or $500 graduate (SOC 501)
Colorado high school students registering for the Group Facilitation must also submit the 2-page Colorado Statewide Agreement Form

Register for this course in order to receive credit for interning with a specific Smart-Girl Program as a guide or coach. Programs are offered around the state every semester, as well as some summer sessions.

Fall 2008 Session:
Interms needed in both Colorado Springs and Denver. Schedules will be coordinated with the Program Director.
Contact LAS Extended Studies for registration information

OTHER INFORMATION

The Smart-Girl Leadership Training has three (3) textbooks that are required reading for the course. ALL THREE BOOKS MUST BE READ COMPLETELY BEFORE THE FIRST CLASS MEETING. Books are available at the UCCS bookstore, or through Amazon.com. To place an order through the UCCS bookstore, call (719) 262-3247 locally or 1(800) 990-UCCS x3247 outside of Colorado Springs.

  • FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING POVERTY, Ruby K. Payne, 2001, aha! Process Inc. ISBN 1929229143
  • QUEEN BEES AND WANNABES: HELPING YOUR DAUGHTER SURVIVE CLIQUES, GOSSIP, BOYFRIENDS, AND OTHER REALITIES OF ADOLESCENCE, Rosalind Wiseman, 2003, Three Rivers Press. ISBN 1400047927
  • ODD GIRL OUT: THE HIDDEN CULTURE OF AGGRESSION IN GIRLS, Rachel Simmons, 2003, Harvest Books. ISBN 0156027348

There are, additionally, three (3) optional textbooks for recommended reading. These books are not required.

  • THE BULLY, THE BULLIED, AND THE BYSTANDER: FROM PRESCHOOL TO HIGH SCHOOL - HOW PARENTS AND TEACHERS CAN HELP BREAK THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE, Barbara Coloroso, 2004, Collins. ISBN 006001430X
  • REVIVING OPHELIA: SAVING THE SELVES OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS, Mary Pipher, 1995, Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345392825
  • EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: WHY IT CAN MATTER MORE THAN IQ, Daniel Goleman, 1997, Bantam Books. ISBN 0553375067

To request your official UCCS transcript at the end of your Smart-Girl course, please download the Extended Studies Transcript Request Form and follow the instructions for returning it to the UCCS Office of Admissions and Records.

Send your completed registration form with full payment (check/MC/Visa) to the LAS Extended Studies Office at the following address:

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
LAS Extended Studies
PO Box 7150
Colorado Springs, CO 80933-7150