Building Resilient Girls Through Play

Play Equity to Advance Mental Health (sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation)

San Fernando Valley

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that nearly one in three high school girls considered suicide in 2021, a 60% increase since 2011. Although it is tempting to blame this on the pandemic, mental health issues among teens have been on the rise since at least 2012. Teen depression doubled between 2010 and 2019, well before the COVID-19 lockdowns and distance learning. Social media also plays a role. In 2022, 90% of girls report using social media every day and greatly reduced their in-person interactions with friends. This presents a significant challenge as social media is not only considerably less fulfilling than seeing friends in person, but comes with numerous risks including sexual exploitation, body image issues, and cyberbullying, all of which girls experience more than boys. It is not surprising that this dynamic has been proven to lead to behaviors linked to depression, including self-harm, suicide attempts, and deaths by suicide.

GALS is an all-girls charter middle school in LAUSD. Our school design is predicated on the belief that a single-gender environment can realize powerful outcomes for adolescent girls. Dr. Cornelius Riordan, an educational researcher and professor of sociology at Providence College, found that the performance of minority students in single-gender schools is stronger on all tests, on average, almost one academic year above that of their peers in coeducational settings. Further research indicates the unique ability of all-girls settings to identify how girls learn and succeed and, as a result, provide "a certain comfort level that helps them develop greater self-confidence and broader interests, especially as they approach adolescence." Through an active pedagogy, GALS focuses on the health and wellness and daily movement needs of our students. Starting each school day with Morning Movement prepares our students (and staff) for the school day, improving alertness, attention, memory, and cognition, not to mention social interaction, community interconnectedness, self-esteem, and (of course) physical health. Students are exposed to a variety of fitness modalities and sports throughout the school year, giving them access to and experience in a diversity of sports and workout styles. GALS serves a population of 11-14 year-old girls who are 82% low income, 22% English Language Learners, and 13% Special Education in Panorama City.

If it were not challenging enough to be a teenage girl, being a BIPOC girl also comes with unique struggles when it comes to their mental health. From racism, discrimination, cultural insensitivity, internalized stigma, inadequate access to economic resources, and social exclusion, these add disproportionate stress and trauma to the mental health concerns girls are already facing. Beyond the joy, energy, and confidence our students gain from movement, research demonstrates that daily exercise improves memory, attention, and cognition. Sports participation also boosts self-esteem and civic engagement. Movement prepares our students to live long, fulfilled lives. As youth develop these qualities for themselves, they carry them forward into the world around them. As such, LA benefits directly from the resilient, healthy women these girls become by gaining a thriving member of the community. When one succeeds, we all succeed.

GALS uses the various tools to measure progress towards its goals and objectives, including: Individual Student Academic and Wellness Action Plans (Quarterly): Allow students and parents the ability to track their own ongoing assessments and growth over time, reflect their own challenges, and collaboratively identify focus areas with their teachers and wellness coaches. Student surveys (Twice a year): These surveys allow us to measure more subjective items such as school culture, happiness, self-confidence and school environment. Parent surveys (Annually): These surveys allow us to measure parent satisfaction with the overall GALS program. Consistently, students report increases in physical, mental, and emotional health year after year. In addition, students demonstrate academic excellence. Compared to six local middle schools, GALS students averaged a score of 50% met or exceed on ELA (v. 29%) and 25% met or exceed on Math (v. 12%).