Overview:
GALS Denver is a tuition-free, all-girls+ public school with a curriculum that emphasizes movement and prepares students to lead confidently.
Running the mile in middle school gym class normally involves fear, embarrassment and hearing the boy who uses way too much hair gel lie about his mile time during fourth period—but not for seventh grader Emily Soto and the rest of her classmates at the Girls Athletic Leadership School (GALS) in Denver. GALS is the first and only tuition-free, all-girls+ public school in Denver with a curriculum centered on movement and empowering its students to lead confidently and live boldly.
Soto, who is one of approximately 250 girls in grades six through eight, was drawn to GALS Denver after older kids at her elementary school mentioned their interest in the school due to its supportive and empowering community. She was looking for an all-girls school, but Soto was discouraged that the majority of her options were religious schools. GALS checked all of Emily’s boxes, and after only being there for a year, she has already grown her confidence immensely.
“I was definitely really shy, I only ate with like one other person at lunch. I didn’t know that many people, and I wasn’t really outspoken,” Soto said. “But now, I’m more outspoken. I gave a National Women’s Day poem that I wrote myself. I’m friends with—and if not friends, I’m acquaintances with—a lot of people, and I try to put myself out there so that way no one else has to eat lunch with just one other person and keep quiet.”
Since arriving at GALS Denver in fall 2024, Soto has felt embraced and empowered by the teachers and student body.
“My dad’s family comes from Puerto Rico, and my mom’s comes from Mexico, and I feel like a stereotype about Hispanic people is that we’re loud,” Soto said. “I’m like, ‘You know what? If you want to believe that, I’m going to let you believe that, and I’m going to be loud, but in the best way possible. I’m going to do theater. I’m going to give speeches, but not because I want to prove your point, but because I want to prove my point.”
Soto’s typical day at GALS begins with morning movement that is dependent on the quarter’s theme. The first quarter movement was running, and now Soto starts the day with ultimate frisbee.
“[Movement] gets our body moving. It wakes our brain up. It gets us more ready to succeed, and we really see the effects of that,” said GALS Denver Executive Director Timeri Tolnay. “Students love it. They’re happier because they’re getting exercised. And they’re also playing a lot of games and team sports in that movement period. So they’re bonding with their friends over these fun games, and then that leads to more engagement in the classroom because they’re in the class with their friends who they have fun with.”
From morning movement, Soto moves on to her remaining five classes of the day, with a break for lunch in between, followed by squad. At the start of each year, GALS students are assigned to squad groups that meet after lunch and at the end of the day. Squad periods are comparable to a typical homeroom class; however, squad periods create a space where teachers are able to check in on the students.
“[Squad] is a space where you can really be vulnerable,” Soto said. “Especially because a lot of things happen at lunch, like fights, so it’s just a space to be vulnerable, relaxed and really focus on unimportant things, you know, to get your mind off of everything else that is happening.”
After squad at the end of the day, Soto heads to theater for her extracurricular activities. Theater is Soto’s favorite subject because she builds strong bonds with her cast members, and she sees it as a positive way for herself and others to get out of their comfort zones.
“Theater’s one of my biggest things to do after school, and sixth graders are new, some of them are more outward and some of them are more shy and soft spoken,” Soto said. “I just wanted to make sure that whether you were either of those, you have someone to talk to during theater, that you’re not just on your computer by yourself.”
GALS Denver has taught Soto how to comfort her friends better, be more confident when helping a friend through more serious situations and allow her leadership skills to shine. “I define leadership as not only being the leader and in charge but making space for others to come up with ideas and taking accountability for your actions,” Soto said. “Because no one likes a leader who glorifies themselves, you know? We want honesty and trust.”
Although Soto thrives in theater and leadership, she occasionally struggles with academics. However, her teachers at GALS have created a safe space for Emily and other students to give their best effort during classes without fear of messing up.
“I’d say academically I would doubt myself a lot because I’m not the best in math or in ELA (English Language Arts), and I choke up a lot of times because I get so nervous and paranoid about getting things wrong,” Soto said. “But I think that the teachers are always so reassuring that even if they are cold calling you, that they want an honest response and they don’t want you to feel pressured to be perfect and get the perfect answer.”
Soto said that teachers and administrators at GALS Denver create a very “bright” environment for students to thrive in. “The teachers take their time getting to know the students one by one and all their interests, and they really pay attention,” Soto said. “Especially if a student is struggling, they’re the ones to be there for them. And that influences the students to do better and be there for other students when they need it if the teacher is not always available.”
GALS’s framework and curriculum have proven to be more helpful for young girls than an average middle school experience, with soaring performance metrics. GALS has been awarded green for its performance framework by the state of Colorado for the past two years.
“We believe that’s because of the model that we use. The purpose of the wellness is that we all know that middle school is a tough time, and being an adolescent girl is hard,” Tolnay said. “And so we learned early on that if we could provide mental health support on campus, we could help address some problems before they happen or right when they happen and help students kind of build their skills around their own social-emotional development.”
For administrators like Tolnay, the GALS Denver model is about fostering social and emotional growth and resilience from an early age. GALS administrators also learn from their students to improve their middle school experience, most notably by changing their admissions from all-girls to all-girls+.
“We’re founded as an all-girls school, and what ended up happening is that some students who identify along the gender continuum found our school with that robust kind of social, emotional and mental health component to be a safe space for them,” Tolnay said. “And so the folks before me opened the doors to allowing students who identified in these different ways, gender-wise, to join our campus. And all of that’s just created a really inclusive environment.”
For students like Soto, the GALS Denver mission comes to fruition through learning to be a leader, supporting others and believing in themselves, skills she will take with her when she moves forward to high school.
“Being a GALS girl means taking accountability for your actions and trying to help others take accountability for theirs, and pushing yourself to work as hard as you can without overexerting yourself and reminding yourself that you are an amazing person,” Soto said. “I’m loud and outspoken, and I think that’s one of my greatest virtues, and I want to use it for the greater good.”
