Program aims to build self-esteem among girls

Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary game of freeze tag.

But in reality, the seven girls running around the Ohio School for the Deaf were learning a valuable lesson about bullying – all while getting in some heart-pumping exercise.

During the first version of the game, two girls gleefully playing the roles of bullies chased three others around the gym. Meanwhile, two onlookers ignored the chaos and did jumping jacks.

But for the second round, the bystanders were allowed to stop exercising whenever one of the bullied girls got tagged out so they could run over and unfreeze them.

Kaydee Clark, 11, said she liked the second version of the game better because, “it feels good to have someone help you.”

“Every day at school you’ll see bullying situations playing out where you have an opportunity to help, whether it’s asking a friend if they’re OK or telling an adult what happened,” said Jessica Sloan, an elementary teacher and one of two Girls on the Run coaches at the school.

“We exercise, we walk and we run, but we also learn how to stand up and do the right thing,” said 10-year-old Emarie Peters. “These girls all are my friends and it makes me feel happy to know that they’re here for me.”

It’s lessons like these that makes Girls on the Run different from other programs aimed at getting kids up and moving, said Tobbi Valentine, the school nurse who advocated bringing it on campus a year and a half ago.

Girls on the Run builds up girls’ confidence levels and gives them the skills to overcome the normal insecurities of growing up, Valentine said. The program also teaches youngsters about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and introduces them to running.

“Too often, people see these children for their disabilities, but we focus and celebrate their abilities” she said, adding that besides communicating through sign language, their Girls on the Run program is the same as any other school, recreation center or community group.

The nonprofit program is aimed at helping girls in third through eighth grades be joyful, healthy and confident, said Jess Sparks, council director for Girls on the Run of Franklin County.