After a study at The Ohio State University detailed the challenges girls and women face in situations they didn’t feel prepared to handle, school districts across the country have implemented a program to help students tackle those challenges
That program, Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX), identifies difficult situations and equips girls with the resources and knowledge needed to take them on.
ROX has empowered girls in schools and various other industries since 2011. There are now ROX programs in 40 states in the U.S., and each year, more than 17,000 girls participate in the program and engage in a companion course that build their confidence and decision-making skills.
Dr. Lisa Hinkelman, an educator at the Department of Counselor Education at OSU’s College of Education and Human Ecology, conducted the study. She then developed the ROX curriculum, designed to be integrated into the school day for girls interested in participating.
“The whole curriculum is 20 lessons, and some are self-defense, so we actually have pads they use to work on strikes and different self-defense poses,” says Jessie Martin, director of student well-being at Westerville City Schools. “They talk about healthy communication, healthy boundaries, coping skills for stress, and a lot of activities are hands-on.”
These lessons not only taught them vital information but also built up their confidence.
Martin oversees ROX programming across the district and is amazed at the impact it has had.
“A few of our school counselors have been part of ROX for at least 10 years,” says Martin. “We had between 30-50 female students per year that participated.”
Over the past two years, more school counselors throughout Westerville have been requesting funding for ROX program training, prompting the Westerville Education Foundation to provide grants.
“We went from 30-50 females getting into the program to 220 in grades 5-12 last year,” says Martin. “We figured out how to secure funding going forward to continue to offer the program, so this year will be the first year that there will be ROX groups in every school.”
Westerville eXperiences
Before implementing the ROX program, school counselors went through a multi-day training session, after which they were given access to the entire curriculum for implementation the following school year.
During the school day, counselors and social workers pull students from study halls and lunches to participate, ensuring that instructional times aren’t interrupted.
“ROX does a Girls’ Index, … a survey that they give across the nation to gather information on how girls feel in school and how girls feel in social relationships,” says Martin. “ROX looked at the Girls’ Index and then compared it to some of our Westerville participants.”
According to the National Girls’ Index, 79 percent of girls report that they are “under so much pressure they feel like they are going to explode.” An internal Westerville survey after implementation showed that 86 percent of ROX girls learned “healthy ways to manage stress and emotions.”
Participants have also said they feel more comfortable standing up for themselves if they’re being made to feel uncomfortable, and more freedom to share their opinions.
According to the study conducted by ROX in Westerville, 82 percent of girls say they feel more confident handling challenging situations after joining ROX.
The future is female
Martin hopes to continue to grow participation in Westerville’s ROX program and the district is working to establish more funding and community partnerships.
“All those that identify as female, from grades five through 12, at some point in their Westerville career, will have an opportunity,” says Martin. “Of course, no one’s made to participate in this program, but just that they would have the opportunity.”
Amber Phipps is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at aphipps@cityscenemediagroup.com.
