Whole Girl Wellness
Invitation to Participate in BLSYW’s Annual Cool Women Hot Jobs Student Conference
It’s that time again!!
Thank you for your interest in participating in the BLSYW Annual Cool Women Hot Jobs Student Conference on Friday, March 28, 2025. The theme for this year is: “Sisterhood in Action: Building Dreams, Leading Change, Creating Bold Futures.”
We invite volunteers from a variety of professional backgrounds to visit our school and share their career journeys with our students. Volunteers will engage with multiple student groups in 30-40 minute sessions, offering valuable insight into their respective fields.
The goal of this event is to connect students with the outside world, providing them with a deeper understanding of the diverse career paths available after college, especially in unique and unconventional spaces, and the skills needed to forge a fulfilling professional journey.
The Purpose of This Event:
Expose students to diverse career pathways they may not have considered, including interesting jobs in unusual spaces.
Allow students to see themselves in a variety of careers, inspiring them to envision new possibilities for their future.
Offer preventative wellness education that aligns with the developmental and cultural needs of our students.
Teach self-advocacy and self-care to encourage students to take charge of their well-being.
Destigmatize mental illness by providing practical tools to manage stress and promote mental health.
Help students manage emotions and express intense feelings in healthy ways.
Support physical and mental wellness by connecting students with women who can offer guidance.
Introduce students to professional networking as part of their first experience in a professional setting.
This event plays a crucial role in helping our students not only dream big but also take practical steps toward their future careers while fostering a supportive, empowering community of women leaders.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please register using the link below. We look forward to having you join us for this inspiring and impactful event!
About Whole Girl Wellness
Whole Girl Wellness is a trauma-informed approach that supports BLSYW students by building resilience and competence in both students and teachers. This initiative goes beyond traditional education by integrating resources and interventions that address the unique needs of our students, empowering them to overcome challenges and live lives of strength and purpose.
Many of our students in Baltimore face higher levels of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) than those in Maryland or nationwide. ACEs include abuse, family violence, parental separation, incarceration, substance abuse, and mental illness. These experiences can create significant barriers to academic success, and many of our students come from under-resourced elementary schools, entering BLSYW behind in reading and math.
Recognizing the impact of trauma, BLSYW has created a supportive environment that focuses on building both academic skills and emotional resilience. Some of our students struggle with attention, behavior, and emotional regulation due to the effects of trauma. Historically, Black girls displaying these behaviors have faced disproportionate discipline, which deepens racial and social disparities and limits their academic progress.
BLSYW believes that supporting the whole girl—focusing on both her emotional well-being and academic growth—is essential to overcoming these barriers. This approach has become even more crucial in the wake of the pandemic. By expanding this initiative we are better able to meet our students’ needs.
The Whole Girl Wellness Approach
The Whole Girl Wellness approach teaches, inspires, and nurtures each student by considering her entire life experience—gender, race, and culture—when choosing the best ways to support her learning and development. For over a decade, BLSYW has combined proven teaching methods with strategies designed to address the unique challenges faced by urban girls of color, focusing on both internal and external stressors.
Within the last year, we have trained our School Climate Associates in restorative practices, de-escalation and Socio-emotional learning. We created a “BLSYW Cares” wellness team that meets bi-weekly to assess and plan for students and their needs. Participants of this committee include director of whole girl wellness, school social worker, school counselor, school climate associates, school psychologist, community coordinator and administrator.
We have continued to nurture existing and developed new partnerships including:
The results of this approach are clear: 100% of our graduating seniors are accepted into 2- or 4-year colleges or professional programs, and 78% of BLSYW graduates enroll in college the fall after graduation. This far exceeds the 22% college enrollment rate for African American students in Baltimore City Public Schools. Whole Girl Wellness is about more than academics; it’s about empowering each young woman to succeed in life and become a leader in her community.