Portland, Maine • Digital, social, and real-world safety • Next cohort begins April 26

Girls are often polite before they are prepared for pressure.

Most unsafe situations do not begin as obvious danger.

They begin with pressure, secrecy, mixed signals, or behavior that is easy to dismiss, especially online, where tone and intent are harder to read.

Smart + Safe teaches girls how to notice what is happening, interpret it clearly, and respond with language, boundaries, and options before a situation escalates.

Reserve a Spot for the April Cohort Join the Interest List
4 weeks Girls ages 11–15 Small, instructor-led groups in Portland
Notice
When something starts to shift
Interpret
Pressure, secrecy, and changing dynamics, including online
Respond
Clear language, boundaries, and exit strategies

Designed for girls who are responsible and capable, but underpracticed in the situations where pressure, ambiguity, and quick judgment matter.

Why this matters

We teach what happens before.

Many of the situations girls face do not begin with obvious danger. They begin with pressure, discomfort, mixed signals, or social dynamics that are easy to dismiss in the moment, especially online, where things are often harder to read clearly. Smart + Safe teaches girls how to recognize that earlier part clearly.

Most safety training centers the final moment. Smart + Safe helps girls notice what is happening sooner, make better sense of it, and respond while they still have options.
Earlier recognition / clearer judgment / more options
Illustration of a girl moving away from an early warning sign
Pressure that builds gradually
Social situations that feel off but are hard to explain
Behavior that is easy to excuse, second-guess, or minimize Messages or social dynamics that shift online
What Smart + Safe builds Earlier recognition. Clearer judgment. More options.

Girls learn to notice risk sooner, read a situation more clearly, respond with direct language, and step sooner when something feels off.

This work helps girls recognize what is happening sooner and respond while they still have options.
What girls practice

Girls practice what they need.

Smart + Safe helps girls build the kinds of judgment, language, and response skills that are often expected, but rarely taught directly.

Notice what is shifting.

Girls learn to pick up on discomfort, pressure, changes in tone, and situational cues before a moment becomes harder to manage.

Read situations more clearly.

They practice telling the difference between awkwardness, pressure, manipulation, and risk so their judgment holds up better under stress.

Respond with clarity.

Girls build usable verbal responses for moments that require boundaries, directness, or a fast change in direction.

They also practice simple ways to leave, reposition, or interrupt a situation before it escalates.

Handle digital and in-person situations.

Girls learn how pressure, manipulation, and poor judgment can unfold online and in person, and practice responses that support safety, distance, and confidence when needed.

Smart + Safe gives girls more awareness, language, and options when something feels off.

Program snapshot

Four weeks.

Three core skill areas.

One practical sequence.

Each 90-minute session helps girls build awareness, judgment, verbal response, and physical skills through guided practice. Digital dynamics are woven throughout the program, with Week 4 offering a more focused look at online safety and decision-making.

4 sessions 90 minutes each Guided practice in every session
Illustration of girls representing the Smart and Safe program
01
Week 1

Awareness + Communication

Girls practice situational awareness, body language, and clear verbal responses across social, digital, and everyday situations.

02
Week 2

Boundaries + Physical Skills

Girls learn to recognize warning signs, use direct refusal language, and practice simple physical skills that support safety and exit.

03
Week 3

Everyday Scenarios

Girls work through unwanted attention, social pressure, and everyday situations, including how these dynamics can begin online and carry into real life.

04
Week 4

Digital Safety + Decision-Making

Girls practice recognizing online pressure, setting digital boundaries, and connecting online behavior with real-world judgment.

The program helps girls build awareness, language, judgment, and response options they can actually use in everyday life.

2 (14)

Street smarts + situational awareness

3 (8)

Practical self-defense skills

1 (11)

Voice · Boundaries · Real world application

Who it’s for

Designed for girls who are gaining independence.

Smart + Safe is for girls who are spending more time navigating social situations, online communication, and everyday moments where quick judgment matters. It is also for parents who want something more practical than a one-time talk.

As girls are given more freedom

As girls get older, they are often expected to manage more on their own: social plans, group dynamics, transportation, online communication, and moments where adults are not there to help make sense of what is happening.

Responsible girls still need practice

A girl can be respectful, capable, and generally well-behaved and still need more practice noticing pressure, reading situations clearly, and deciding what to do when something feels off.

Practical preparation, not fear

This program is not built around scare tactics or vague advice. It helps girls build more awareness, better judgment, clearer language, and more usable options in real situations.

Smart + Safe is for girls growing into more independence, and for parents who want them better prepared as that world expands.

Parent support, built in

The work does not stop when class ends.

Parents receive brief follow-up emails after each session with a summary of what was taught, the language girls are practicing, and simple conversation starters to help reinforce the material at home.

Parents are not expected to figure it out on their own.
Enrollment details

Next cohort details

A structured 4-week program for girls ages 11–15 focused on awareness, judgment, communication, and response skills.

Start date
April 26, 2026 · 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Length
4 weeks · 90 minutes per session
Format
Small group · maximum 12 girls
Ages
Girls ages 11–15
Location
Salud, Portland
Tuition
$275
What’s included
Smart + Safe hoodie and parent session summaries

Sessions are intentionally small so girls have room to practice, participate, and receive feedback. Enrollment is limited.

What changes

What your daughter takes with her

The goal is that she leaves with more judgment, clearer language, and more practical ways to respond in real situations.

Physical skills

She knows how to create distance, protect herself, and leave when needed.

Situational awareness

She notices more earlier, reads situations more clearly, and is better able to tell when something is starting to shift.

A stronger voice

She practices setting boundaries more clearly, with less hesitation and less need to apologize for them.

A clearer way to respond

She leaves with a more practical way to assess situations, make decisions, and respond in everyday life.

She leaves better prepared to notice, interpret, and respond.

Why Parents Trust Smart + Safe

Built from the intersection of adolescent insight and practical safety training.

Smart + Safe was created for the gap many parents can feel but struggle to name. A girl can be thoughtful, respectful, and responsible and still need direct practice with judgment, boundaries, verbal response, and real-world decision-making. This program was built to teach those skills clearly, practically, and in ways girls can actually use.

Keyla Alston-Griffin, founder of Smart + Safe

About Keyla

Smart + Safe was created by Keyla Alston-Griffin, a therapist who works with adolescents and families and brings a lifelong foundation in Kajukenbo to this work.

She grew up in a martial arts household where three principles were constant: read the room, hold your stance, and treat everyone with respect. She began assisting her father in teaching women’s self-defense classes as a teenager, which shaped how she teaches safety skills: directly, practically, and with respect for the person learning them.

That blend of experience shaped Smart + Safe. It reflects both an understanding of how girls navigate pressure and social complexity and a belief that awareness, boundaries, verbal response, digital judgment, and physical safety should be taught together.

Smart + Safe brings developmental insight and practical safety training into the same conversation.

What makes this different

Smart + Safe is not built around fear, vague empowerment language, or a one-time talk about being careful. It is a structured, instructor-led program that helps girls build clearer judgment, stronger boundaries, and more practiced responses in the situations they actually face.

Digital and in-person dynamics are treated as connected, because that is how girls experience them.

Why this matters to parents

Parents often know their daughters are capable. What they want is preparation that matches the stage their daughters are entering. This program helps girls build clearer judgment, stronger language, and more practical ways to respond before situations become harder to read and manage.

What families are saying

The clearest proof is often what families notice afterward: more practical language, more follow-up conversation at home, and greater confidence in how girls handle real situations.

“The course is so practical and speaks to girls this age.”

Parent of participant

“Keyla is someone I absolutely trust to deliver information about safety with my daughter. She does it with grace, humor, warmth, and deep research.”

Parent of participant

“This course was invaluable to our daughter. She left each session with practical skills and wanted to share the content and scenarios with us at home.”

Parent of participant
Tribute photo honoring Keyla

In loving memory of my parents, whose teaching continues in this work. Their example shaped my understanding of awareness, discipline, respect, and helping girls move through the world with strength and clarity.

Ready to Help Her Handle What Comes Her Way?

Enrollment is open. Groups are limited to 12.

Location: Cohort sessions held at Salud | 275B Marginal Way | Portland

Register for Upcoming Session

Questions? Email keyla@smartandsafeteens.com

F.A.Q.

No. Smart + Safe is an educational safety course designed to equip girls with awareness, boundaries, and self-defense strategies. It’s skills-based, not clinical.

Traditional self-defense prepares girls for stranger attacks. Smart + Safe prepares them for the risks they’ll actually face.

Most threats to teen girls don’t come from strangers—they come from social pressure, boundary-testing, digital grooming, and unclear situations with people they know. These scenarios happen in “safe” communities every day.

Smart + Safe integrates physical techniques with situational awareness, boundary-setting, verbal response skills, and digital safety. It’s modern self-defense for the world teen girls actually live in—taught by an instructor with both martial arts training (Kajukenbo) and 20 years of adolescent experience.

Not at all. The techniques are simple, effective, and designed for teens with no background in martial arts or athletics.

Each week, parents receive a summary of what was covered plus conversation prompts to extend learning at home. You’re partners in this process.

This course is for her. We create a supportive, small-group environment where every girl can build skills at her own pace. Confidence grows through practice, not perfection.

Yes! Email
keyla@smartandsafeteens.com for information about private courses, school partnerships, or custom group sessions

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