A throng of seventh graders huddled on the dirt path surrounding their school’s athletic field. They were about to run a timed mile, and they were buzzing with excitement.

“Are you ready?” a teacher shouted.

“We were born ready!” the students shouted back.

It was a Thursday morning at the Girls Athletic Leadership School, an all-girls charter middle school in Denver, where the students run the mile three times a year. Their enthusiasm to participate in a ritual that many tweens dread on a sunny 80-degree day exemplifies their enthusiasm for their school, known affectionately as GALS.

At a time when enrollment in Denver Public Schools has shrunk , enrollment at GALS is growing. GALS opened in 2010 and has about 250 students this year, up 35% from the 187 it had three years ago but l

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