West Liberty-Salem ROX members took part in a self defense training class last evening as part of the program’s curriculum. ROX, which stands for Ruling our Experiences, Inc., is a co-curricular program that addresses the crisis in confidence by delivering evidence based programs to girls in high school. Evidence suggest that there is a 26% drop in girl’s self confidence between grades 5th-9th, and 1 in 3 girls with a 4.0 GPA still lack confidence in their ability to procure their dream job. The curriculum is 20 weeks of lessons and students meet during lunch or home room time.
ROX serves girls across the country by delivering the program to counselors and teachers who teach girls the tools they need to not only learn more about themselves, but how they can impact their social circles and beyond. Locally, Mrs. Jessica Haney, high-school English teacher, leads a group of 12 girls. They do basic getting to know you activities, talk about body image in social media and other media, relationship building, bullying, self doubt and confidence. Because this program is a national program, there is a $75 fee per Rox student. Mrs. Haney was able to off-set the cost for every member by applying and being selected for the Logan County Co-Op Operation Round Up Grant. The fee covers ROX swag, facilitator training, and extra classes like self defense. This is the second year for ROX at WL-S, and while grant funding is so helpful, it is not always guaranteed. Support through local sponsorship and local funding would be a helpful way of making sure this program continues to grow and empower high school girls for many more years. If you are interested in finding out how you can help, please contact jhaney@wlstigers.org.