Girl Scout Leadership Development Program

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Girl Scout Leadership Development Program
DRAFT

• Recommendations August 7 8, 2006

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Core Business Strategy Charge

• Build the worlds 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.

3
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_at_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.

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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
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.

• 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

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Long Term Outcomes
Through discovering, connecting, and taking
action, girls become leaders who demonstrate

• 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.

As they make the world a better place.
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Processes Promoting Fun

• By girls, for girls
• Girl driven
• Girl-adult partnerships
• Experiential Learning
• Learning by Doing
• Cycles of action and reflection
• Cooperative learning
• All-girl teams
• Working towards shared goals

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Leadership In Their Own Voice
I will do something memorable.
Ill know Ive touched peoples lives in a good
way.
Leaders help others achieve their dreams.
I want to be comfortable being myself in any
situation.
People will say I inspired them.
People will think Im admirable.
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Differentiating By AgeAge 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 1117 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
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.

• GRADES
• grades K-1
• grades 2-3
• grades 4-5
• grades 6-8
• grades 9-10
• grades 11-12

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Updating LanguageAge 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 L (LEAD)
• Girl Scout Juliette Girl Scout Trailblazer Girl
  Scout E (LEAD)
• Girl Scout Senior Girl Scout Navigator Girl Scout
  A (LEAD)
• Girl Scout Ambassador Girl Scout
  Ambassador Girl Scout D (LEAD)
• (Alternatively Champion Girls are Girl
  Scouts, moving
• or one word from Option 2) through
  leadership levels
• L-E-A-D
• All ages wear a Lead pin/patch,
  with the designated level highlighted.

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Updating Symbols of BelongingUniforms
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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

• DISCUSSION

• DECISION

• ALIGNMENT

• 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.