Program  Design

A logo for girls first with a tree in the middle.

Empowering The Next Generation

At Girls First, we provide a safe and supportive environment where students practice respect for self and others, exercise appropriate interactions with peers and adults, discover new skills and talents, and develop tools that will allow them to achieve greater success in school and beyond.

Our Approach

Our Programs Are Designed to Help Students

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Feel Safe & Supported

While building positive relationships

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Build Their Confidence

Regulation, efficacy, empathy, and agency

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Develop New Skills

Social, emotional, academic, & creative

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Break Cycles of Adversity

By increasing resilience & perseverance

Arts Integration

Arts are a vehicle by which we teach our students life skills and coping techniques. Our curriculum provides coping mechanisms for students who experience overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety, delivered in a universally beneficial way.

A group of children are playing violins in a room.
Two young girls are dancing in a dance studio.
A little girl is painting on a white board with a brush.
Two young girls are standing next to each other in a room.
A young girl is jumping in the air while holding a colorful scarf.

Our Trauma-informed Approach is Central To Everything We Do

A diagram showing the components of social and emotional learning

Our Artsee© curriculum draws upon evidence-based methodologies including the Neurosequential Model in Education, and the Pillars of Trauma-Informed Care. This integrated approach creates a physically and psychologically supportive environment where students can develop essential skills under the guidance of specially trained Teaching Artists. While not every student we serve has experienced trauma, our trauma-informed approach benefits ALL children by creating a foundation for social-emotional learning that supports diverse learning styles and needs.

Through principles of safety, connection, regulation, and adaptive responses, we help students develop resilience and perseverance while cultivating empathy, agency, and efficacy. Utilizing our trauma-informed approach, Girls First provides a holistic environment where students receive consistent support, creative outlets for expression, and the skills they need to navigate challenges effectively. This creates both immediate benefits and long-term tools for success in school and beyond.

A diagram showing social emotional skills arts integration trauma informed and resiliency based model
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Ensure Safety
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Foster Collaboration

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Nurture Empowerment
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Build Trust
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Provide Choices
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Honor Intersectionality

Our Curriculum

Two young girls are playing a piano in a room.
A little girl is sitting at a table with markers and stickers
A little girl in a pink apron is painting on a long piece of paper
Two little girls are standing next to each other in a room.

Arts-based Social & Emotional Learning Explorations

About Our Curriculum

Artsee© is a four year, arts-based curriculum focused on building resilience while cultivating regulation, agency, self efficacy, and empathy. The curriculum is designed for delivery to children in first through fourth grades. 45 minute lessons are formatted in a structure that provides predictability and consistency while following the natural organization of the brain. Creative explorations are used as metaphors to practice and develop social, emotional, and academic skills and interpersonal interactions. It is encouraged that students be given opportunities to apply skills practiced in class to real life situations throughout other portions of the program or school time. 

A girl in a pink apron is sitting in a chair painting a picture.
A group of children are looking at paintings hanging on a clothesline.
A little girl with braids is painting on a piece of paper

The curriculum features a heavy emphasis on celebration and invites family members, friends, and community members to participate in recognizing the accomplishments of students during end of semester student led showcases. All lessons are designed to be led by experienced Teaching Artists, and an initial 20 hour training in Artsee’s© specific teaching methodology is required with ongoing support for Teaching Artists provided.

Ask us how we can bring Artsee©, our arts-based social and emotional explorations curriculum, to your organization.

Artsee© Curriculum Yearly Breakdown

YEar 1

Practicing Self Regulation
  • Understanding Emotions
  • Understanding Stress Responses
  • Impulse Control
  • Calming Strategies
  • Setting Goals
A little girl is sitting at a table with markers and stickers
A woman is teaching a group of young girls how to cook.

YEar 2

Discovering Personal Agency
  • Decision Making
  • Identifying Choices
  • Understanding Solutions / Consequences
  • Self Advocacy

YEar 3

Building Self Efficacy
  • Trying New Things
  • Facing Challenges
  • Setting Goals
  • Reframing Obstacles
  • Acknowledging Accomplishments
A group of young girls are dancing in a room.
Three young girls are sitting at a table in a classroom.

YEar 4

Cultivating Empathy
  • Develop Emotional Literacy
  • Build Moral Courage
  • Hone Social & Emotional Intelligence
  • Practice Active Listening
  • Perspective Talking