STUDIO 2B Presents

Girl Scouts 11-17

 

               The spring 2003 issue of Hotlines introduced our local Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts to the new STUDIO 2B program. (Note that the title of this program is written in all caps.)  The below articles shared on internet forums are provided to help leaders transition into GSUSAšs updated program for Girl Scouts 11-17. Article titles on this page include:

 

The below links offer additional resources on the STUDIO 2B approach and new award options:

                

 

 

STUDIO 2B Talking Points

GSUSA, July 2004

 

What is STUDIO 2B? What do girls and adults in STUDIO 2B do? What's STUDIO2B.org?

1.  STUDIO 2B is the term that describes a flexible, varied, girl-driven approach to Girl Scouts, for girls 11-17.

2.  STUDIO 2B is Girl Scouting for girls 11-17, with a focus on accommodating girls' busy schedules and increased responsibilities as they grow into adulthood.

3.  In STUDIO 2B, girls receive all the membership benefits that Girl Scouts offers.

4.  In STUDIO 2B, all that a girl has focused on in Girl Scouts remains part of her unique experience.

5.  Girls in STUDIO 2B decide what activities they're interested in and want to explore, and use STUDIO 2B Focus Books to learn about self-defense, health and fitness, careers and other topics.

6.  In STUDIO 2B, girls "do" the B's. They.

7.  "Become" - identify and embrace their strengths.

8.  "Belong" - are part of a fun group of peers they feel safe around.

9.  "Believe" - talk about what's important to them.

10.    "Build" - take action in areas where they want to make a difference.

11.     The "B's" in STUDIO 2B are the four Girl Scout Program Goals as teens and preteens worded them.

 

Why was STUDIO 2B created? Why is it named STUDIO 2B and what does it mean?

1.  STUDIO 2B, unveiled in October 2002, is founded on research by the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) that was conducted nationwide with teens and preteens in and out of Girl Scouts, their families and volunteers. The study, titled The Ten Emerging Truths: New Directions for Girls 11-17, found that girls are most interested in being part of a group that they have created; participating in activities and speaking on topics they're interested in; and being advised by adults who they can relate to.

2. A flexible, varied and girl-driven approach has been part of Girl Scouts for more than 90 years, and is the core of the STUDIO 2B experience.

3. During the research, girls defined STUDIO 2B as a term they could relate to, because it reminded them that they could "do the B's" - become, belong, believe, and build.

 

Who can be part of the STUDIO 2B experience?

1.  All girls 11-17 can be part of STUDIO 2B.

2. Adults of all ages, who can relate to girls, share their experiences and help facilitate activities girls choose to do, are needed as advisors in STUDIO 2B.

3. Girls can continue to participate in all the activities they enjoy in Girl Scouts--classics like camping, selling cookies, and earning badges--and incorporate those elements into their unique STUDIO 2B experience.

 

Where do girls and adults go to join STUDIO 2B? Where do groups meet?

1.  Girls and adults can get more information about STUDIO 2B by calling 1-866-550-4311, or logging on to http://www.studio2b.org

2. Girls and adults can visit their local Girl Scout council to join STUDIO 2B.

3. Some STUDIO 2B groups meet at local pizza and coffee shops, at book stores, at malls, and on college campuses, but wherever the group decides to meet, it's a space where girls feel comfortable and safe.

4. Studio2b.org is an online destination where girls 11-17 find out how other girls feel, check out how girls are making a difference, gain perspective on issues that arise as girls grow into adulthood, iMail, share stories, and read the latest on relationships, style, and travel.

 

When did STUDIO 2B begin? When do STUDIO 2B groups meet?

1.  The STUDIO 2B approach was formalized by Girl Scouts in October 2002, and since then, membership among girls 11-17 has been growing.

2. Girls and adults in STUDIO 2B meet when it's convenient for the group, and this flexibility allows members to fit meetings and activities into their busy schedules.

 

 

 

STUDIO 2B Summary

(GSUSA, June 2004)

 

The Four Bs - The Girl Scout Program Goals Teens Relate To

            STUDIO 2B is the place for girls to:

1.  BECOME celebrating themselves today and becoming their best in the future

2. BELONG being part of a group where they have fun, relate to others with respect, and form lasting friendships

3. BELIEVE developing ideas and voicing what is important to them

4. BUILD taking action on what they care about and making a difference

 

By Girls, For Girls

            Girls say they need and value advice from adults, but want their experiences in STUDIO 2B to be by girls, for girls (BGFG). In STUDIO 2B, girls lead the way - and adults serve in the role of advisor. The By Girls, For Girls National Advisory Committee is a team of girls from across the country who advise Girl Scouts of the USA on how to keep Girl Scouting relevant. They give input on the content and design of resources and maintain their own Web page on http://www.studio2b.org

 

STUDIO 2B Resources

ˇ   STUDIO 2B Basics - the core book girls can carry with them to help plan, connect, and do activities.

ˇ   STUDIO 2B Collections - books that address the distinct needs, interests, and concerns of girls ages 11-13, Collection Series 13-15, and 15-17. Each book contains celebrity interviews, first-person accounts, quizzes, advice columns, and activities.

ˇ   STUDIO 2B Focus Books - hands-on, skill-based, practical materials centered around different activities.  Focus books such as money management, entrepreneurship, fitness and nutrition, building self-esteem, and writing skills.=

ˇ   STUDIO 2B Charms - Each Focus book has a corresponding charm that girls can earn for setting and achieving their goals, and then wear on a bracelet, backpack, or clothing.

ˇ   http://www.studio2b.org - studio2b.org is an online site where girls 11-17 can submit stories, send iMail, read feature articles about their world, and get advice and information on topics important to them.

ˇ   STUDIO 2B destinations - The STUDIO 2B destinations page on the STUDIO 2B Web site provides the latest information about year-round travel, workshops, and special events, including how to register and/or qualify.

 

Additional Resources

            New polls, quizzes, and feature articles are added monthly to http://www.studio2b.org  and postings to the STUDIO 2B destinations pages are updated often. Other resources and events include girlsgotech.org, the Latina Conference, and the Girl Scout Gold Award Young Woman of Distinction. Resources based on girls' interests are added frequently.

 

 

 

Just for Leaders

 

Carol Lee Spages, Adult Development Director and Special Programs Manager from GS Lenni-Lenape Council in New Jersey offers the below information just for leaders . . .

 

               The New Directions research that lead to the development of STUDIO 2B defined what 11 - 17 year old girls said were the qualities of a teen savvy adult:

ˇ         Encourages girls to be independent

ˇ         Welcomes all girls into the troop/group.

ˇ         Is an expert at something.

ˇ         Understands the issues that face teens today.

ˇ         Is in shape; can do physical activities.

ˇ         Encourages girls to explore possibilities.

ˇ         Volunteers to help others.

ˇ         Understands when girls make mistakes.

ˇ         Encourages girls to grow up.

ˇ         Listens to what girls are really saying.

ˇ         Doesn't nag.

ˇ         Doesn't pressure girls (for example, to earn awards)

ˇ         Acts as an advisor, not a leader

ˇ         Can step back.

                       Are you teen savvy?  We have our challenge ahead of us to recruit and retain teen savvy adults to help us deliver STUDIO 2B to every girl everywhere who expresses an interest in joining or staying in Girl Scouts, but is looking for some alternatives to the traditional program.

                       STUDIO 2B can stand alone as a separate program opportunity or be combined with the current Cadette and Senior Girl Scout program activities.

                       Also, the survey indicated girls did not like being called "older girls." They want to be called preteens and teens.  GSUSA staff has stopped using "older girl" in all of their course offerings.

                       It's going to be tough for those of us who have been around "awhile" but we're going to have to change if we are going to attract and retain the group of girls, I think, have the most potential for growth and development within Girl Scouting...the 11 - 17 year olds.

 

 

 

Making Focus Book Goals

 

            Joni Brennan from Pennsylvania shares her insight regarding questions about goal setting, an integral part of the STUDIO 2B approach. (More resources to assist with goal setting are available on my Happy New Year webpage)

 

                  What is the incentive to do more work? - Knowing you did a job well done. We all know when we are slacking, just doing enough to get by, or really excelling above and beyond. The girls will choose to do their best and give it their all OR to slack off. The S2B program, as well as the traditional program, is what you make it.

                   How did the girls feel that did more work when those that did just a few things end up with the same charm? - The same way the girls feel when Janie chatters throughout the entire badge requirement presentation and then can't answer the questions when called upon. We are all different. Janie has chosen to do less and try to get by. In the end, who suffers? No one but Janie. Maybe this is the life lesson she will learn from being in GS.

                  My daughter constantly feels like she does more then everyone else - and I agree that she usually does.  However, she is better for it and I tell her that she can only worry about herself. The girls in my troop who simply show up and don't dive into the projects, go home without a great experience under their belt.  I can't MAKE them be involved, pay attention, learn, love it, etc.

 

 

 

IPA's Related to the GS Law

 

            Shari Teresi from California offers the below insight into selecting IPAšs related to the GS Law as required in the Leadership Award which is Step 2 of both the GS Silver and GS Gold Awards:

 

                 I really love this requirement because I think it makes the girl reflect on what the GS law really means. I think EVERY IPA relates to the law (and so does every aspect of life) in some way or another - and I think that is the lesson for each girl when she realizes that. She hopefully will also realize that the law will/should be her guide in all she does in life. I think the important part here is not that the girl find the certain IPA(s) that relate to the law (shhhh! They all do!), but the important part is the thought that she must put into figuring out HOW it relates. The answers on how they relate will vary - there's not one right answer!

                  It's a thinking activity. You could make a case that any IPA corresponds with the law, but the important part is how you make your case. Take any random one. OK we'll take the first one - Car Sense. Here's my interpretation on how it relates, which I'm sure would be different than any other person's ideas:

ˇ    Honest and fair - investigating uninsured motorists' liability.

ˇ    Friendly and helpful, considerate and caring - any of the service requirements.

ˇ    Courageous and strong - you might have to use big power tools to do some of the work on the car, or it might take guts to interview the highway patrol officer because that might be pretty intimidating.

ˇ    Responsible for what I say and do - uninsured motorist thing again?

ˇ    Respect myself and others- Young and Dumb poem activity - To me, the choice not to drink and drive is all about "respecting myself" and doing the right thing with a drunk friend is respecting others (the whole friends don't let friends drive drunk thing.).

ˇ    Respect authority - finding out about the rules and laws of the road.

ˇ    Use resources wisely - disposing of oil in ecologically sound method.

ˇ    Make the world a better place - service aspects.

ˇ    Be a sister to every GS - maybe you worked with a friend on some of the requirements.

 

                  The way I interpret this requirement, a girl doesn't need to relate every part of the law to the IPA like I have done, but she should be able to do so without a problem.

                  Obviously it's a reflective activity - the girls are supposed to reflect on the law and what it means as applied to a real life situation (making the GS traditions work in a contemporary way.) I think that if a girl is having trouble with this requirement, she should be allowed to struggle with it a little bit. To me, the whole idea is to have her come to the realization herself that the law relates to every IPA. If she doesn't go through the realization that ALL of the IPAs relate, she may very well miss the whole point of the requirement. Also, if an adult TELLS her that all of the IPAs relate, and tells her the adult's interpretation of how, she also may not get the chance to figure this out for herself. The end result is not the important part of this requirement - the process is!

 

 

 

GS 11-17 Transition Update

GSUSA, May 2004

(Note ­ reference June update below for some clarifications,)

 

Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards

Whats News and Whats Not - The adjustments in the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards streamline the lead-up steps, focus on living the values of Girl Scouting, and put more emphasis on project planning and implementation. They reflect cutting edge research on 11-17 year olds, and council input at all steps. It's not just repackaging, it's a strengthening of our roots, while accommodating the changes needed to best serve the needs of today's girls. Change is part of our heritage of keeping the Girl Scout program relevant, as evidenced by the history of leadership awards for girls since the original Gold Eagle Award. We believe that Juliette Gordon Low would be proud of what she began and where it is going.

The changes in the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards reflect concerns and recommendations received through research and ongoing discussion, evaluation and feedback from a variety of sources including council staff, Girl Scout Gold Award committees, advisors, parents, and girls.

Across the board, what GSUSA heard most consistently was that the steps up to the project implementation felt like "busy work" and that girls too often arrived at the project step without enough ideas about how to make an impact in the community. Too many Girl Scout Gold Award projects involved only the Girl Scouting community, rather than connecting girls with their communities and with projects that engaged their passions. As a result, the updated guidelines put more emphasis and value on the actual planning and implementation of the community action project. The increased hours at the end of the path to the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards are balanced by a more streamlined approach on the earlier steps. You'll find that by the end of the whole journey, the total hours girls spend on the awards is about the same as it has been in recent years.

The basic structure of both the Girl Scout Gold and Silver Awards remain the same. Each project focuses on:

1.       Leadership

2.      Career exploration

3.      Challenge for personal growth

4.      Community action

Living the Girl Scout Promise and Law and the 4 B's - become, belong, believe and build - form the core of the process, with girl-driven activities guided by adult advisors. When possible, councils are encouraged to expand girls' horizons and networks by building teams of project advisors, who are recruited for their abilities to mentor and empower girls in accomplishing a community action project. These teams could be a new avenue for cultivating volunteers with specific skill sets from new areas and developing new liaisons or expanding current partnerships within the community.

The council role in both the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Award administration process is more clearly defined in the recruitment and training of project advisors - placing these adults in the existing volunteer development system in a formal way. This could be a new avenue for cultivating volunteers with specific skill sets from new areas and developing new partnerships within the community.

 

Managing the Transition

During this time of transition, a significant number of girls are using STUDIO 2B materials as their core program resource, while others continue to use the Cadette and Senior program materials and others are mixing and matching.

The new Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards incorporate all of the core elements of Girl Scouts and utilize both interest projects and STUDIO 2B Focus books. GSUSA recommends that councils assist girls to begin earning these awards based on the updated guidelines because they reflect an improved approach - based on research and feedback from councils - that will lead girls to stronger community action projects. However, GSUSA trusts councils to use discretion and flexibility to manage the transition process. To this end, keep the following information in mind as you guide girls and volunteers through the transition.

 

Resources

1.       The new guidelines will be available to girls from NES as "Go For It" inserts which can be used in the STUDIO 2B Basics planner.

2.      The Cadette and Senior handbooks remain available through NES.

3.      The change of the Interest Projects for Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts title to Interest Projects for Girl Scouts 11-17 is motivated by wanting to be inclusive of ALL Girl Scouts 11-17. Plans are to update the contents of these books for Spring, 2005. Content has not been updated at this point. Please make sure that advisors, girls, and shop managers understand this so that folks don't feel they need to purchase a replacement book at this point.

 

Awards

1.       The Interest Project Awards for girls 11-17 remain fabric.

2.      Both the Girl Scout Silver Award and Girl Scout Gold Award remain pins.

3.      The move to use charms instead of pins for the awards leading up to the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards is again motivated by the desire to be inclusive of all girls ages 11-17 and offer options. As charms, the awards can be worn on a bracelet or pinned - via the charm holder - to the uniform or other clothing.

4.      The pins that have previously been associated with the Girl Scout Gold and Silver Awards continue to be available through NES. While inventory lasts, girls who choose to substitute 2001-2003 leadership insignia (pins and patch) for the 2004 requirements may do so.

5.      The only awards being phased out are the Dreams to Reality Patch, which is being replaced by the Girl Scout Silver Career Award and the Girl Scout Cadette and Senior Challenge Pins, which are being replaced by the Girl Scout 4B's Challenge at both levels. Essentially, girls are engaging in similar activities, with a better transition to the project, and the names have been changed to reflect the emphasis on the 4B's. Again, girls may mix and match this award for the next two years of transition.

 

Age Level Names

1.       GSUSA anticipates that a recommendation involving the age level names "Cadette and Senior" will be made in 2005. Indications from GSUSA research are that the titles "Cadette" and "Senior" are not what the majority of girls wish to be known by. All girls 11-17 are Girl Scouts and what they choose to call themselves is part of the STUDIO 2B umbrella approach. Some girls will continue to call themselves Cadette or Senior Girl Scouts.

2.      When recommendations are ultimately made about age level standards, there will be adequate time for girls and volunteers to transition, as has always been the practice in Girl Scouts. There is no need for girls to "lose work" because of the transition process.

 

               Be Flexible and Trust in the Process - Council staff are encouraged to use their discretion, creativity, and best judgment to help girls, Girl Scout Gold Award committees, and other volunteers in the transition process to the new approach.

GSUSA trusts councils to make exceptions as needed on an individual basis, just as councils trust girls and their advisors to follow their course. For example, although we are recommending that the "new way" be fully implemented in two years, we recognize that some girls will still be working on the "old track" for more than that time. There may be need for flexibility in mixing and matching the old requirements with the new, such as in completing requirements for the "old Leadership" while using the new "4 B's Challenge."

While some girls and their advisor/leaders will be ready to change mid-stream, those working from previous materials need to be given the option of continuing with the old requirements or moving into the new. Let the motivation for interpretation of these materials be to keep the girls-positive experience at heart, not having to do it "by the book."

Again, we trust Girl Scout councils to use their discretion in overseeing the process, bearing in mind that the national approach and guidelines are available, via the Web, to girls and volunteers throughout the country. When considering local needs, balance the national guidelines and special circumstances with the end goal of ensuring that each girl implements a community action project that makes her and the council proud! . . .

 

Focusing on the Big Picture

There is no right or wrong way to transition and no girls should be made to feel that they are losing work in the process. Girls starting out on their Girl Scout Silver or Gold Award work should receive orientation to the new guidelines. This direction will be reflected in "Go for It" materials available from NES for girls to use in their STUDIO 2B Basics binders, Leader magazine, the revised GSUSA Web site, and the communication between staff and volunteers.

Training adults working with girls, willingness to support the changes, allowance for time, and the recruitment/retention of the right adults on the council Girl Scout Gold Award Mentor Committee will be the keys to a successful transition. As a council, strengthen and educate community networks that can help support girls and their projects, particularly those girls who are not members of a troop or group. Consider building upon national Girl Scout initiatives or Girl Scouts Research Institute (GSRI) studies in this process, such as the focus on reaching out to Hispanic communities and volunteers 18-29 or the study on emotional safety.

 

 

 

Age Requirements for the GS Gold & Silver Awards

GSUSA, May 2004

(Note clarification regarding summer work in the June 2004 update below.)

 

GS Silver Award - a girl must be 11 or going into 6th grade to begin work on steps 1 - 4 of her GS Silver Award. She must be 12 or going into 7th grade to start work on steps 5 & 6, the GS Silver Award project. She must complete Steps 5 & 6 by age 14 or before the start of grade 10.*

GS Gold Award - a girl must be age 14 or going into grade 9 to work on steps 1 -3 of her GS Gold Award. She must be 15 or going into grade 10 to start work on steps 4 - 7. She must complete it and the paperwork before age 18 or the end of her final girl membership year, September 30. (Since young women who are developmentally delayed may retain their girl membership through their 21st year, they may have until that time to earn the GS Gold Award)

 

(*Further clarification indicates that girls actually have until September 30th after completion of the 9th grade, the official end of the GS year. Check with council to confirm should your girl be cutting it close.)

 

 

 

 

GS 11-17 Update and Sixth Grade Girl Scouts

GSUSA, June 2004

 

               We appreciate the eagle-eyed folks reading these materials and the feedback you have been giving. We will continue to provide you with updated information and FAQ's throughout this year as they are needed...

 

FAQ

               In the FAQ section, some adjustment was made to the question regarding age. However, since then, we have received additional questions, which we will include here for clarification. We are also putting some additional flexibility into the program as a result of comments received thus far...

 

Q:  Can a girl work on the prerequisites for her Girl Scout Award Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards the summer after she has bridged, rather than wait until the new membership year begins October 1.

A:  YES! We want girls to be excited about these awards and to use the time they have, rather than trying to cram it all into the school year or lose the momentum and interest over the summer. (Safety-Wise will be changed to reflect this change as soon as we can do it.) Alternatively, caution volunteers about pressuring girls to begin award related projects before they are ready and excited.

 

Q:  When the Focus books were first introduced, we were told that the charms were the equivalent of an Interest Project patch and could substitute in the pre-requisites for the Silver or Gold. Is this still the case with the new guidelines?

A:  No, the feedback from council staff and volunteers in 2003-2004 was that substituting IP's and Focus Books was unacceptable. Based on this feedback we've now tried to integrate both IP's and Focus Books into different steps in the Girl Scout Silver and Girl Scout Gold Award process. Those girls who started doing Focus Books only or IP's only can continue during the transition period..

 

Sixth Grade Girl Scouts

               We have had many questions related to our focus on sixth graders at the recent regional conferences and in STUDIO 2B materials. Here are some points for clarification. Please include these points in your training for staff, advisors and girls. The key words are flexibility and retention.The current age level standards in the Blue Book of Basic Documents provide sixth graders with choices:

 a.. Junior Girl Scout age 8-9-10-11 OR grade 3-4-5-6

 b.. Cadette Girl Scout age 11-12-13-14 OR grade 6-7-8-9

                Councils that have concentrated efforts related to the STUDIO 2B approach on improving retention of girls entering middle school have found that the new options, books and awards appeal to these girls. Accordingly, GSUSA has encouraged councils to implement the STUDIO 2B approach with sixth graders. This includes emphasizing the "By Girls, For Girls" approach, providing a menu of participation options, including an opportunity to choose a group name, responding to the developmental needs of pre-teens, and expanding the network of adults interacting with girls.

                In managing program for sixth graders, please note:

1.       Girls can begin "tasting" STUDIO 2B activities, resources and awards in the spring of fifth grade.

2.      Girls in sixth grade can choose to earn or complete the Girl Scout Bronze Award, using the resources for Junior Girl Scouts, even if they are also doing other activities as "STUDIO 2Bers." Girls cannot use STUDIO 2B materials to earn the Girl Scout Bronze Award.

3.      Girls in sixth grade can choose to begin working on their Girl Scout Silver Awards, using the "Go For It: Girl Scout Silver Award" insert.

4.      Girls in the sixth grade who complete their Girl Scout Bronze Award and want to work on their Girl Scout Silver award or explore other STUDIO 2B resources and awards can choose to celebrate their move to a different phase of Girl Scouting with a bridging ceremony. They can decide whether to call themselves "Cadettes" or what ever they choose.

5.      If girls decide to transition to STUDIO 2B approach at sixth grade, they can still continue work on their Girl Scout Bronze Award project, as long as they are not working on Girl Scout Silver Award activities concurrently.

6.      If groups of sixth graders new to Girl Scouting are formed, we recommend that they enter under the STUDIO 2B umbrella and begin work on their Girl Scout Silver Award rather than go backwards into Junior Girl Scout materials to work on the Girl Scout Bronze Award.

7.      Girls in sixth grade should not be working on the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards concurrently.

8.      Girls in sixth grade can choose from all available resources, including Interest Projects for Girl Scouts, STUDIO 2B Collection 11-13 and the STUDIO 2B "Focus" Book series.

 

 

 

*The STUDIO 2B name and symbol are owned by GSUSA. Copyright 2002 GSUSA. All rights reserved.

 

(December 2004)