School Social Work & Social-Emotional Learning in an All-Girls Practice Setting
As the Director of Counseling & Wellness at Columbus School for Girls (CSG), it is my honor and privilege to be able to be part of a team that is creating innovative approaches to social and emotional learning in an all-girls setting. That said, to say I catch ‘looks,’ when I share with people that I work in an all-girls school would be an understatement. There is a subliminal feeling of ‘Oh my, there must be so much drama’ that runs rampant in people when they think of all-girl…anything. In my role, it is not only important that I dispel such notions and preconceptions amongst the community but also work hard to minimize any such behavior inside our walls.
All-Girls Education: What and Why
CSG is an independent, college preparatory school {founded in 1898!}, dedicated exclusively to girls’ intellectual, social, and emotional growth. The environment and mission empower girls to discover their distinct potential as learners and leaders. At CSG, we work hard to carefully craft a holistic and individualized experience that prepares girls to become not only successful college students but leaders of the industry, community, and the world!
The most influential part of an all-girls practice setting…girls do it all! There is a strong belief (and some emerging research) that girls are more successful in an environment created specifically for them and that they should be free to be who they are, and do what they will, without anyone to stand in their way. An all-girls education means girls have the freedom to speak out more, gain confidence, and see themselves as leaders. CSG girls do not just have equal opportunity, they have every opportunity.
Girls and young women in all-girls settings embrace the opportunities and challenges of adolescence with a great level of assurance and poise. Girls are always center stage – they participate, take charge, and get involved. Graduates of girls’ schools are confident learners, critical thinkers, self-starters, and contributing team players.
We know girls and women to be (typically) highly relational creatures. The independent, all-girls environment lends itself to fostering and nurturing these experiences with small class sizes, advisory programs and a strong commitment to deepening a sense of community and connection. This is certainly not to say that there are no objections to the single-sex educational approach. Quite frankly… the research is split.
Practice Realities and Recommendations
As with any practice setting, we face unique strengths and challenges as we work to intentionally support girls from pre-k through 12th grade. And while girls across the globe continue to face unique challenges, they are also garnering international attention and pushing the envelope. A few examples of these amazing girls and young women: Deja Foxx (18) a fierce advocate for accessible and affordable reproductive healthcare for all women, especially those impacted by poverty, Mari Copeny (11), who continues to fight for clean drinking water in her hometown of Flint, Michigan and Lane Murdock (17) who coordinated a student walkout to protest gun violence in the aftermath of the Parkland High School shooting. These inspiring girls and young women motivate me to work hard to make CSG the best work environment I can in pursuit of all-girl ‘cultural competence’.
Helping Our Girls Become Stronger: Programs, Partnerships, and Tools For Their SEL
Today’s girls are ‘digital natives’ (a person born or brought up during the age of digital technology [typically born after 1980] and therefore familiar with computers and the Internet from an early age), meanwhile many of the adults who work with them are ‘digital immigrants’ making us ‘just another grown-up who doesn’t understand’.
Many girls view social media as part of their social capital/currency and just like in the real world ‘cash’ is all too often king. It takes a tireless effort to educate students and families on the topic of being tech-savvy while promoting positive use and avoiding abuse. With guest speakers like Dr. Sameer Hinduja (Cyberbullying Research Center) and Zach Imwalle (Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office), we are progressively moving the needle and changing the dialogue around using social media, staying safe online and understanding how to curb misuse. One way we are working together is in combatting the propensity of unhealthy relationships and negative self-talk online. To tackle this, we created our very own CSG Wellness Instagram account – our sole mission being to disrupt students’ feeds with messages of love, confidence, and affirmation.
Additionally, it has been one of my distinct privileges in this role to be a licensed ROX (Ruling Our eXperiences) Facilitator and Coach and implement the ROX curriculum with all 8th-grade girls (in collaboration with the MS Health Curriculum). The mission of ROX is to create confident girls who control their own relationships, experiences, decisions, and futures. ROX has been integral in creating an environment where I am able to build personal, meaningful relationships with smaller cohorts of girls and create a common language foundation that we will draw on together throughout their Upper School experience. More recently, ROX launched its Institute for Research & Training driving its programming, professional development, and curriculum development forward using data from girls across the country to help inform its own decision making.
CSG has also maintained an ongoing partnership with the Youth Yoga Project (YYP) – a local non-profit that empowers youth through yoga and mindfulness practice to manage the stress of each day and make healthy choices. At the start of our collaboration, YYP staff members would come in and facilitate and oversee programs with students in the lower, middle and upper school. While this was exceptional programming and a tremendous opportunity for our girls, I felt that we needed a more sustainable (and flexible) scheduling structure. With that in mind, YYP asked that we be a part of their pilot program with a “teach the teacher” model. It was this model that allowed teachers across grade levels to go through initial training, be given access to a range of teaching resources and to implement strategies and classes within the framework of our standard school day.
We created our very own CSG Wellness Instagram account – our sole mission being to disrupt students’ feeds with messages of love, confidence and affirmation.
Finally, at CSG, an emphasis on service and community is at the heart of how we both engage and challenge our students. As the Service Coordinator, I work hard to cultivate an ethic of service and sense of community, civic and global responsibility through service-learning activities, trips, and curriculum inclusion. These service and community-based activities are designed to prepare CSG students to be informed, resourceful, responsible, compassionate, generous and, above all, active citizens in their community – whether down the street or across the world. As with most programs and initiatives, I could not facilitate all of this alone. In the areas of service-learning and civic engagement, I work closely with the grade level Deans, Student Council members, our Parent and Alumnae Associations as well as school administrative team members to coordinate logistics, network with community agencies and help supervise/facilitate on and off-campus opportunities.
Emphasis on STEM
While the focus on girls’ engagement and participation in the so-called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields continues, programs like Girls Who Code continue to be vital. Girls Who Code aims to close the gender gap in technology and change common misconceptions about what programmers look like and do. It was with this in mind that CSG and HER Academy opted to partner up in the Summer of 2018. HER Academy’s aim is to develop and test a computer-science curriculum at CSG that looks to pique girls’ interest early and keep them hooked. While this initiative is not strictly SEL in nature, it does serve a function as a confidence booster and career exploration opportunity for girls across grade levels.
Professional Development
When working in any organization or practice setting it is vitally important that intentional professional development is consistently offered and made accessible to our faculty and staff. The same is true in an all-girls independent school. I take seriously my role in ensuring that our faculty and staff have the most current understanding of what girls are facing today and how we can all work together to ensure their success. Additionally, understanding what is happening in the world of all-girls education is key… and yes, there’s a whole world of us out there! To help me build those professional development opportunities, I heed the guidance of the National Coalition of Girls Schools (NCGS) and Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) as well as local community partners including, Ruling Our Experiences (ROX) and The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio.
I continue to be reminded that there is no need to reinvent the proverbial wheel but rather to work hard to identify resources and networks to help inform and guide best practices.
In partnership with the aforementioned organizations as well as years of practice, I have found that asking the right questions and identifying tangible takeaways are key tenets of implementing successful professional development.
Parent Education & Engagement
Just as we train our faculty & staff, so too must we have our students’ parents and guardians at the forefront of our minds. At CSG we provide parent and guardian education through multiple platforms including monthly e-newsletters and internal and external programs.
Throughout the years, research, feedback and direct observations have led us to engage with programs such as Signs of Suicide Caregiver Training, Developmentally Appropriate Digital Citizenship (internally provided program) and Wellness and Balance for the Modern Parent (℅ Dr. Jennifer Carter, The Ohio State University Dir. of Sports Psychology). Additionally, we continue to share and connect our parent community to resources like A Mighty Girl and send regular updates home surrounding topics that are timely and pertinent to girls’ lives today (i.e. Stress & Pressure, Perfectionism, Vaping and E-Cigarette Use, etc…).
Conclusion
While the emphasis on SEL continues to grow across the nation in diverse educational settings, it is worthwhile to consider the unique ways in which we can draw on key SEL concepts to serve single-sex institutions. Girls are facing new challenges every day, and yet we see resounding resilience, strength, and immense power in their voices. I am proud to serve these girls as a school social worker in this dynamic all-girls school context.
Additional Resources For Further Exploration
Bigler, R. S., & Signorella, M. L. (2011). Single-sex education: New perspectives and evidence on a continuing controversy. Sex Roles, 65(9-10), 659.
Cherney, I. D., & Campbell, K. L. (2011). A league of their own: Do single-sex schools increase girls’ participation in the physical sciences?. Sex roles, 65(9-10), 712.
Severiens, S. E., & Ten Dam, G. T. (1994). Gender differences in learning styles: A narrative review and quantitative meta-analysis. Higher education, 27(4), 487-501.
Programs like Career Girls and Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls strive to help girls feel empowered and equipped to embrace their authentic selves.
Author and TED contributor, Alexandra Samuel, believes we should forget ‘digital natives’… here’s how kids are really using the Internet.
