ROX program empowers young girls attending TPS

Though women’s rights have come a long way, there are many girls today who struggle with body image, bullying, unhealthy relationships and academic and career development. Having an understanding family and friend group can help, however, not all girls have the support needed to grow into successful adults. Tecumseh Public Schools (TPS) is taking the first step towards empowering girls with the implementation of the new ROX (Ruling Our eXperiences) program, which teaches girls how to be independent, self-confident and safe in today’s world. ROX is based out of Columbus, Ohio, where they have several programs based throughout the eastern U.S. Tecumseh will be the first in Michigan to implement a program of this kind to support young women. The ROX program enables girls to develop skills to deal with issues such as bullying, body image, sexual harassment, dating violence, sexual violence prevention and stress, as well as teaching girls confidence, effective communication, online safety, coping, supportive relationships and career skills. The Tecumseh program will contain girls in grades eight and nine, focusing on problems relevant to the age group.As well as offering complete 20-week programs for schools, ROX also offers parent workshops and symposiums, counselor and educator workshops, and safety and self-defense workshops, as well as mini-camps and seminars. The focus of the ROX mission is to equip girls with the knowledge and skills to live healthy, independent, productive and violence-free lives, creating generations of girls who can control their own relationships and decisions. TPS Supt. Kelly Coffin is glad that the district is finally implementing a program for young girls. “We decided to target eighth and ninth grade because that’s where we find the biggest issues, primarily social media and the negative effects of that,” Coffin said. “We have trained four facilitators, and all are counselors.”The facilitators are Liz Fraker, graduation coach for Tecumseh High School (THS), Heather Perez, Director for Communities in Schools of the Tecumseh Area, Angel Mensing, assistant principal at THS, and Mary Tommelein, counselor at Tecumseh Middle School. Coffin believes that the ROX program will be an important part of the curriculum for teenage girls attending TPS. “It can be a really tough time for girls aged thirteen to fifteen as they struggle with self-esteem and with the increasing pressures through social media,” Coffin stated. “The ways people feel free to criticize can be very hurtful, especially at this age where young ladies are figuring out who they are as a person. They’re not adults, but they’re expected to take things that not even adults handle very well. This program is a way to counter some of the negativity with positivity.”The hope for Coffin is that the girls will be prepared to handle tough issues. “The goal is to equip young ladies with the skills they need to grow and develop into young women,” Coffin said. “It’s to help them understand their strength and recognize they are empowered and can take charge of things they feel they don’t have control over.” Mensing is eager to being teaching some coping strategies to girls who, otherwise, may have not gotten the chance to learn self-respect outside the ROX program. “We will be teaching self-defense, as well as verbal self-defense, and putting women in leadership roles,” Mensing said. “It’s a comprehensive approach to the problems that our girls are dealing with these days.” “It’s to realize that as young women, we are all the same,” Coffin said. “We are all fighting some of the same battles, to answer how do we cross those barriers and support each other, rather than think the worst of each other.”More information on the ROX program can be found by visiting www.rulingourexperiences.com.