Our Philosophy is to Offer Life Transformation
The work-of-life transformation here at Columbus Girls Academy occurs daily as the girls are here. For many students enrolled in the CGA program, developmental stages have been disrupted due to crisis, behavioral interference, or peer pressure. When developmental needs are disrupted, and societal pressures overwhelm, girls will find belonging from unhealthy sources. CGA offers a safe environment for growth and opportunities to resolve their unmet needs. Our students experience life transformation, return to a healthy stage of development, plus get caught up on their academics. Every stage of our program is essential and provides the building blocks for long-term growth and positive thinking.
Physiological and Safety Needs
Foundational needs for every student are met by satisfying basic physiological and safety needs. CGA meets these needs through well-rounded nutritional meals, hydration, comfortable and safe living arrangements, structure, and adequate opportunities for rest and exercise. CGA eliminates the barriers that may have interfered with each student’s safety and physiological needs before enrollment. Students feel safe in the well-defined boundaries and structure of CGA. CGA demonstrates that they are valued and loved by expertly meeting their basic needs and daily mentoring them.
Love and Attachment
Love and attachment represent the next stage of needs we work on with every CGA student. Our staff members play a vital role in offering a constant source of support and nurture for students in the program. Many girls destroyed their family relationships before their enrollment at CGA. Individual, group, and family counseling will provide meaningful reconciliation for those broken family relationships. Students here also learn that a relationship with God can meet psychological needs for love, belonging, and esteem. Students learn about their God-given worth and identity through a curriculum that each student’s assigned leader individualizes. This curriculum led by our licensed counselors helps to identify a student’s spiritual and therapeutic needs and guides the student to positive thinking and endeavors. A community is formed in the student body where students feel they belong. Many activities here promote a unified and positive team-oriented peer culture.
Significance and Purpose
Teens are on a search for significance and purpose. CGA students have incredible God-given potential, talents, and skills, which are discovered, developed, and deployed through the specially designed activities of the program. We provide students with a quality individualized educational program through which students have the opportunity to recover and improve academically. This helps to lay the foundation for successful life plans. Through regular service projects, students improve socialization skills, grow in emotional maturity and attain a sense of purpose in their contributions to society. Through the challenging and rewarding work of change, students discover their lives are significant and contemplate how they might make a difference in their world.
