Middle School Girls Building Healthy Relationships Thanks to Club Ophelia at Sunset Ridge Elementary School

GLENDALE - November 24, 2009 - "You taught me how to love myself and how I shouldn't listen to what other people think of me..."

Those are not the words and thoughts commonly expressed by the average eighth grader dealing with the awkwardness and confidence issues commonly associated with adolescence. Yet those remarkable words were uttered by a Sunset Ridge Elementary School eighth grader named Selena.

Selena's self-confidence undoubtedly was aided by her participation in Club Ophelia at Sunset Ridge. Named after the woman-victim in the William Shakespeare play, Hamlet, the idea for Club Ophelia began at a national level in 2006 as a response to research showing a troubling trend - a growing number of young teenage girls were the victims of bullying and relational aggression.

The effects of the middle school bullying were directly impacting academic success and social acceptance in high school.

Sunset Ridge Counselor Mindy Turner became concerned about a growing problem with middle school girls displaying aggressive behaviors within her school. There was also a rise in discipline issues and office referrals. Along with colleague Jill Zitt, Turner was awarded a grant to begin a Club Ophelia-type program at Sunset Ridge in 2007. The program's goals included:

• Reduce the number of incidents of relational aggression and bullying and the number of office referrals for middle school girls
• Discuss the negative effects of drugs and alcohol and offer positive alternatives for entertainment
• Increase members' school attendance and grade point averages
• Prepare the girls for the transition to high school, work and community
• Increase the members' knowledge of educational and career opportunities for women.

During the first year, the program attracted a dozen girls to an after-school club designed for dialogue and activities focused on building self-worth, healthy relationships and beliefs that their futures would be brighter. The program has since grown to include lunchtime meetings and special events throughout the school year.

With Turner serving as both mentor and facilitator, club members have developed a variety of activities offering them opportunities to talk, work and play together to build social skills and relationships. A scrapbook and journal are integral to the program, allowing participants to create pictures of their future lives, careers and achievements. All of the activities include group discussion focused on developing self-esteem.

But is it working? We know Selena was impacted; what about other members? Consider this quote from Andrea, a recent Sunset Ridge graduate now in high school: "I can honestly say that I would have never survived my first year of high school without your help! You inspired me in so many ways that encouraged me to be myself and love who I am..."

Need more endorsements? Consider the word of these other Club Ophelia members:

• "I've learned that beauty is accepting yourself for the qualities that make you, you..." (Maritza, eighth grade)
• "Thank you for teaching me how to accept myself for who I am...." (Stephanie, seventh grade)
• "I thought I needed to change myself to be like everyone else, but your encouragement helped me learn that I AM beautiful, in and out..." (Ashley, seventh grade)

In addition to the inspiring words of its members, another measure of Club Ophelia's success has been the program's growth and expansion both at Sunset Ridge as well as at other schools throughout the Pendergast Elementary School District. The seventh and eighth grade club now reaches 30 girls a week, and sixth graders have been incorporated.

Meanwhile, other district schools (Villa de Paz, Amberlea and Desert Horizon) have modeled their programs after Sunset Ridge, and other schools in the metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson areas are looking to the Sunset Ridge club for help in starting their programs.