How to encourage your girl to be herself!
Girls will have more confidence being their authentic selves if they believe their thoughts, opinions and interests are valid. Here are some simple ways you can show your girl you value her thoughts and opinions and everything else that makes her uniquely her!
Ask her to play her favorite song of the moment. Listen to it judgment free and ask her what she likes about it.
Watch a movie/or show together and ask her what she thought (let her choose what you watch).
When she encounters a challenge, avoid jumping in to offer advice. First let her talk through her experience and brainstorm ways she might navigate the issue.
Learn more at www.rulingourexperiences.org.
ROX (Ruling Our eXperiences)
Share
Being a Girl ROX! ROX is the national nonprofit leader in research, education and programming for gir
Ruling Our eXperiences directly addresses the challenges that girls face during their adolescent years including drops in self-esteem and self-confidence, less interest in certain subjects in school including math and science, lower confidence in their bodies and appearance, difficulty forming healthy relationships with peers as well as dating partners, and dealing with violence -- particularly sexual violence.
06/15/2026
The Girls’ Index™ showed us that only 39% of girls feel like they can really be themselves at school. Why does this matter? Because we know that when girls feel like they can be themselves, they enjoy school more. In fact, when girls feel like they can really be themselves at school, they are 6x more likely to LIKE going to school.
At a time when absenteeism is at an all time high: this cannot be ignored.
Tune in tomorrow, we’ll share tips for helping girls feel like they can really be themselves.
06/12/2026
This past Wednesday, we gathered (in-person and virtually) with our ROX Facilitator Advisory Board, representing girls and communities nationwide! 🩷 We are so grateful for the facilitators who give their time and expertise to this work, bringing years of experience with ROX, connective relationships with their girls, and invaluable insights from the field. The Advisory Board helps us maintain program fidelity, relevance, and innovation to meet the changing needs of girls, schools, and communities, and we could not do it without them.
A Story About: Akasha, a 9th grade ROX Girl from Maine
Submitted By: Erin Muller, School Counselor, ROX Facilitator
Key ROX Program Outcomes: Improved school attendance, learned about healthy relationships
Did You Know? 78% of girls who participated in ROX have improved school attendance or feel an increased connection to school.
Thanks to ROX, Akasha went from missing 4 days of school each week to 1 day. Her grades improved, and she tested out of intervention. She graduated 8th grade and is now in 9th grade! Additionally, towards the end of the school year she decided to break up with her long-time boyfriend because she started to realize it wasn't a healthy relationship for her. She is a strong and fierce young lady!
The Girls’ Index™ showed us that girls who feel like school is a place where they belong are 70% more likely to enjoy going to school. Belonging is critical to girls’ wellbeing, and at a time when chronic absenteeism is at an all time high, this is even more important.
So how do we help girls feel like they belong at school?
We need to create spaces where she feels safe to be herself and is supported by an adult who cares.
In ROX, we do this by being intentional about creating a welcoming environment from day one in our school-based program. Each Facilitator creates ROXpectations with her girls, ground rules that help create a safe, trusting space where girls can be authentic, take risks and grow. They make a pledge to each other, to show up and support one another as a team. It’s all about building trust, respect and the sense of, “I’ve got your back, no matter what.”
When girls experience an environment like this: they get to feel safe truly being themselves. And we’re so proud to say that 94% of ROX girls say that ROX is a place at school where they belong.
If you want to bring ROX to your school, and you’re a licensed school counselor, teacher or social worker, head to www.rulingourexperiences.org.
06/08/2026
This past weekend we hosted our 2025-2027 Dr. Patty Cohort at ROX HQ in Columbus, Ohio for their Summer Colloquium!
Through personal and professional development and reflection, the Dr. Patty Fellows are ready to head into their second year of their Fellowship experience, and we are excited to see the impact they will have on their girls and their communities.
The Dr. Patty Fellowship honors the legacy of Dr. Patricia Cunningham, a pivotal force in launching ROX and a tireless champion for educational access, opportunity and persistence. Dr. Patty embodied Edelman's philosophy that "Service is the rent we pay for living" through her unwavering commitment to supporting and empowering others while helping them see their own limitless potential.
06/08/2026
The Girls’ Index™ showed us that girls who feel like school is a place where they belong are 70% more likely to enjoy going to school.
70% more likely!
So, how can you help girls feel like they belong?
Girls need spaces where they feel safe to be themselves and are supported by an adult who cares.
In ROX, we do this by being intentional about creating a welcoming environment from day one in our school-based program. Each ROX facilitator creates ROXpectations with her girls. These are ground rules that help create a safe, trusting space where girls can be authentic, take risks and grow.
06/04/2026
A Story About: A 6th grade Michigan ROX Cohort
Submitted By: Emily Zablocki-Kohler, Licensed Administrator, ROX Facilitator
Key ROX Program Outcomes: Increased confidence, leadership skills, using their voice
Did You Know? After participating The ROX Program for Girls, 86% of girls have higher levels of self-esteem and self-confidence
This past spring was our first cohort. 10 6th grade girls were selected. At first the girls struggled to share their true feelings, but as time went on they gained skills that allowed them to express their own needs, support the needs of others, and to make decisions.
They grew in their confidence, leadership, and sharing their own voices. As the group continued to learn, they expressed that they wanted to make a video to share their experiences with what they had been learning by being ROX girls and also also the importance of what they had been learning.
They decided what they wanted to share in the video and then recorded it (and faced their fears about talking on camera). Our district communications director and I worked to piece it all together and then the video was shared district-wide and on social media (see the video: www.rulingourexperiences.org/50states50stories)
The girls were so proud of their work. Their teachers, principal, and counselor all commented that they saw the growth and learning in the girls. We are looking forward to continuing to build skills in our girls going forward.
The Girls’ Index™ showed us that only 39% of girls feel like they belong at school. And, we know that when girls feel like they belong, they like going to school and fare better, overall. That’s why we are passionate about creating spaces where girls know they belong.
But how do we do this, and how can you?
Our ROX Facilitators know that their role is to honor each individual girl and her
uniqueness, while helping her see how she is important to the whole.
Why is this important? We want her to know that she is good and enough just as she is. This is true belonging: when she doesn’t have to do anything to change in order to belong in her ROX group. This will help her feel seen and understood. AND, when we help her see how important her uniqueness is to the whole, she gets to see herself as an asset to the group.
It is invaluable for girls to experience true belonging like this. It helps her build true confidence in who she is as a person, that will be influential in spaces outside of her safe ROX group.
Everything we do at ROX is with the goal of creating intentional small-group spaces where over the course of 20 weeks, girls get to experience a space of true belonging created by her trained ROX Facilitator.
Applications are now open to become ROX Facilitators, if you’re interested in learning how to help foster this kind of belonging with your girls at school, apply today!
06/01/2026
At a time where only 39% of girls believe that they can be their true selves at school, ROX is proud to be a place where 94% of girls feel like they belong and where 86% believe that their facilitator truly understands what is going on for girls their age.
At ROX, we don’t tell girls what they should think, we help them know that their voices and opinions are valuable to the world.
Girls tell us that they want adults in their lives who listen to them, who believe them and who show up for them without judging them. This is exactly the work we are doing at ROX.
Join us as we share ways you can support your girls in being their authentic selves and discovering true belonging.
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
Location
Contact the school
Address
1335 Dublin Road, Ste 18A
Columbus, OH
43215