PEARLS FOR TEEN GIRLS INC
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Mission Statement
PEARLS for Teen Girls is improving quality of life and strengthening our community one girl at a time by empowering young women with self-development tools, guidance and support to strive for better, brighter futures by living out the PEARLS values: Personal Responsibility, Empathy, Awareness, Respect, Leadership and Support.
About This Cause
PEARLS helps girls in grades 5 to 12 develop social, emotional, and practical skills that will prepare them to be empathic, self-sufficient women leaders. Most PEARLS girls wrestle not just with the upheavals of adolescence, but also with the socioeconomic conditions in their neighborhoods and homes — generational poverty, unemployment, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, crime, low academic achievement, and broken relationships. PEARLS surrounds girls with positive role models, encouragement, high standards, hope, and support as they learn to make their own choices about their futures. Our research-based curriculum helps girls develop self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Those skills help girls choose to complete high school, prepare for college or a career, and avoid teen pregnancy. We integrate a research-based curriculum, best practices in trauma-informed care, girl-driven programming, and structured goal setting to help girls in their positive self-development. Research-based curriculum: Through discussions and activities, girls learn the social-emotional skills to identify, manage, and regulate their emotions, develop healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions. A growing body of research shows that adolescents who learn these skills demonstrate improved academic performance, persistence in secondary and post-secondary education, and a better long-term quality of life. In all our programming, girls consistently hear that they have valuable talents and the responsibility to use those talents. They hold themselves and one another accountable for behaving with high standards of responsibility, empathy, respect, and awareness of others. We create an environment of high expectations and strong support for girls, because a considerable body of research shows that combination significantly influences children’s success. Trauma-informed care (TIC): Our TIC best practices help girls recognize behavioral triggers, learn to regulate their emotions and choices, and restore a sense of control over their own lives. Many PEARLS girls report traumatic experiences such as emotional, physical, sexual abuse, substance abuse in the home, violence in the home, an incarcerated family member, involvement in the juvenile justice system, and/or separation from their families. Trauma-informed care provides a context for understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of these traumatic experiences in girls’ thinking and behaviors. Girl-centered programming: Our girls-only groups reflect research into the importance of peer support for girls’ positive self-development as well as studies that point to the importance of caring adult mentors, especially for children who have experienced trauma and children who have demonstrated problematic behaviors. Studies have shown, for instance, that girls rely more than boys on peer support. Positive peer support among girls correlates to improved school engagement, better self-esteem, fewer social-emotional problems, and lower rates of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and health problems. Structured goal setting: By setting a goal each academic year and supporting one another in their work toward accomplishing these goals, girls learn responsibility for their choices, learn from their mistakes, and work toward achieving their dreams. Decades of research points to the benefits of structured goal setting and goal attainment, including increases in the individual's sense of agency and increased self-regulation, improved academic performance and engagement, and improved self-confidence. PEARLS girls helped develop the curriculum and the PEARLS Leadership Compass, in collaboration with youth development experts and youth program evaluation experts at Alverno College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Our Theory of Change defines how we create meaningful, lasting social change. • We offer girls guidance to recognize their own power: that they are responsible for their choices and have unique gifts they can use to create their own futures. • We share concrete strategies for setting and achieving their goals, as well as support from consistent, caring adults, and connections to educational, pre-career, health, and other resources. • Our alumnae become role models and beacons of hope for their younger PEARLS sisters, and they retain the crucial safety net of trusting relationships that helps them navigate higher education, work, and self-sufficient adulthood despite the socio-economic burdens of their youth. Our long-term outcome is to support girls in developing skills for their personal growth. As a result, girls make positive decisions and help build stronger and healthier communities.