Denver Public Schools’ all-girls charter school is continuing to grow almost seven years after first opening its doors and has just completed some needed expansion.
The Girls Athletic Leadership School of Denver (GALS) started with just over . The school at 750 Galapago St. now has close to 350 students and serves grades 6-10, with plans to add grades 11 and 12.
The school recently opened a full-sized gymnasium. The previous small gym was converted into more classrooms, made possible by $3 million in funding from the 2012 Denver Public Schools bond.
School founder and executive director Liz Wolfson said she is hoping the 2016 bond also passes as she anticipates the school overflowing when they add two grades in the next two years. She hopes to set the capacity at 600 students once all seven grades are open.
“This will at least carry us through one more year in terms of being overcrowded,” she said.
The gym was officially dedicated last week at an event attended by members of the Denver Public School Board of Education, including Rosemary Rodriguez, who lauded the decision to give funds to the school.
“It really is money well spent,” Rodriguez said. “This is such a nurturing environment and a strong academic environment.”
Rodriguez noted that the high school is in the top 10 percent in test scores in the district and the middle school has also performed well.
The school makes good use of the new gym, putting a strong emphasis on physical activity, especially early in the morning. Most classes also have breaks involving some sort of exercise to stimulate brain function, according to Wolfson. The school dress code is athletic gear.
Stephanie Martens’ daughter, Adelaide, started at the school in August, and Martens said her sixth-grader is thriving in the all-girls environment.
“She’s learning about being a strong girl without the influence of boys and social pressure,” Martens said.
According to Wolfson, the school is built around having the students develop a strong identity, which she said is best done around other girls. The school’s motto is “I know who I am, I know that I matter, I know what matters to me.”
“You need to know who you are. From there, everything is possible,” Wolfson said.
She added that good test scores are great and expected, but she is just as concerned — if not more concerned — with the mental state of the students, either when they leave for high school or graduate. Wolfson said the school retains about half the girls from eighth grade into upper grades.
Stalker Henderson agrees that his daughter was well prepared when she moved on to George Washington High School.
“It’s absolutely preparatory for academic success in high school,” said Henderson, who is also a board member at the school and still has one daughter attending.
Wolfson is now preparing a charter application for an all-boys school of the same model that would open in the fall of 2017, if approved.
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or @joe_vacc
