Project AWARE Ohio E-Newsletter
"Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education"
March 2018
Mission: Cuyahoga Community Team works across systems to improve physical, mental, and educational needs and increase access to appropriate resources and services for youth in Cuyahoga County.
Vision: Cuyahoga County children and families will be socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically resilient and productive citizens.
 
Turn on any TV, skim the articles on your Internet homepage, or log into any social media account and you will see it: #MeToo, #TimesUp, #TogetherWeRise, and many more.  Women supporting women.  March is Gender Equality Month and Women's History Month so we are highlighting numerous local and international organizations who aim to empower females to create a more equal world.  In this addition, we highlight some struggles that young females face and how schools can help them foster self-awareness and a plan for a successful future.  
School-Based Strategies

Gender Equality Month & Women's History Month

Youth may be more vulnerable to stereotypes as they develop and understand their place in the world, especially in relation to those similar and/or different from themselves. The classroom is an ideal environment to increase awareness of stereotypes and encourage students to consider the stereotypes to form their own informed judgments. Teachers and other school staff are, therefore, in the perfect position to encourage the development of equal treatment. 
 
Teaching to Promote Gender Equality:

Inequities in teacher attention and class participation begin long before a particular student walks into your classroom; however, these patterns can be changed. Paying closer attention to gender dynamics in the classroom leads both to better teaching and to better learning for male and female students. The Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Virginia provides a list of basic guiding principles to encourage gender equality in the classroom, as well as specific teaching strategies.

Click Here to view the teaching guidelines & strategies.

Promoting Gender Equity in the Classroom:

The Line, an organization dedicated to the reconciliation and equity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has developed numerous materials to promote gender equality in Australian classrooms. The organization formed a list of suggested strategies for teachers, created lesson plan ideas, and wrote articles on gender for youth that can apply to youth all over the world.

Click Here for a list of teaching strategies.

Click Here for a catalogue of articles about gender equality geared towards young readers.

Click Here for a catalogue of articles about gender equality written for educators.

National & International Initiatives

The United Nations

The UN created Sustainable Development Goals: 17 Goals to transform our World. Goal 5 is to achieve gender equality and empower all women. Click Here to learn more about the UN's goal to achieve gender equality, learn the specific targets to achieve it, and access links to other global initiatives for women's equality (such as the He for She campaign, Every Woman Every Child Initiative, etc.).

Click Here to view the UN's flyer - Gender Equality: Why it Matters.

The United Nations and the European Union have joined together to create the Spotlight Initiative, a new, global, multi-year initiative focused on eliminating violence against women and girls. Click Here to learn about the Spotlight Initiative, and to download shareable resources and statistics.

Live Your Dream

Live Your Dream is dedicated to ensuring all women and girls have the opportunity to reach full potential, live free of violence, and achieve their dreams. This movement offers educational programs and strategies to prepare girls for success, provide tools for achieving social and economic empowerment, and educates the masses on violence against females. Click Here to learn more.

State and Local Involvement

Alive on Purpose

Alive on Purpose is a local organization valuing growth, wellness, self-discovery, and wellness in the lives of young girls. Alive On Purpose programs are developed to offer age-specific experiences that enhance young people's awareness to suicide prevention, prevention and emotional support. They are fun small-group programs that use interactive vehicles such as group classes, group discussion, social media and powerful campaigns to influence positive social, cognitive, emotional and psychological development. Click Here to learn about the programs offered by Alive on Purpose or to become involved in their mentorship program.

Girls on the Run - Northeast Ohio

This nonprofit organization inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident!  The organization has several key values they try to foster in young girls, such as: responsibility, intentional decision making, strength and connectedness, optimism, gratitude, leadership, positive intent, and physical, emotional, and spiritual health!   Click Here for more information on our local branch.

Ruling Our Experiences (ROX)

The mission of ROX is to equip girls with the knowledge and skills necessary to live healthy, independent, productive, and violence-free lives."  ROX is an organization that partners with schools across the country using evidence-based programming created at and based out of The Ohio State University.  Licensed counselors, social workers, and educators deliver the curriculum to girls in grades 5-12.  Outcome data from their curriculum indicates that ROX works for girls!   Click Here to learn more about ROX, the programs they offer, and how to bring ROX to your community or school.

Meetup Groups

Meetup is a localized meeting between neighbors to learn something, do something, or share something. There are numerous meetups in the Northeast Ohio region focused on Women's Empowerment, such as: Cleveland Women's Empowerment, Cleveland Young Women Professions, Women Wake Up (Coaching & Mentoring), #Resist Cleveland, etc. Click Here to view the Women's Empowerment meetups in the Cleveland area.

Ohio Women, Inc.

Ohio Women, Inc.'s goal is to improve the lives of women and girls in the state of Ohio. Their website provides a list of women's organizations (by topic and interest such as health, spiritual, advocacy, etc.) in Ohio to increase women's networking and collaborating opportunities. A calendar is provided to share events concerning women and girls. Additionally, they offer updates and summaries of legislations and national news tied to issues concerning women and girls, such as ending violence against females. Click Here to learn more about Ohio Women, Inc. 

 
Your Feedback is Important to Us!

As part of our evaluation for the Project AWARE Ohio grant, we are asking for your feedback on our resources.  We would like to learn about the impact and usefulness of the resources and opportunities provided to you.  The survey takes no more than 10 minutes to complete.  Thank you for your participation.  Click Here to take the survey.

Parma City School District
 
Marian Armstrong, a counselor at Parma Senior High-of Parma City School District-shared a project geared towards encouragement and empowerment for young women:

Girl Power is a group meant to foster leadership and empowerment in the young women at Parma Sr. High School.  Our ongoing theme is "healthy mind, body, and spirit" and we often focus on community service. We have partnered with the Parma Area Collaborative on many occasions to help with securing donations for various community activities.  Our activities include monthly presentations from strong civic minded women in our community (business owners, female police officers/detectives, etc.). We encourage academics and try very hard to go on at least one college visit each year.  We are approximately 40 members strong and our young ladies are often recommended by our staff for demonstrating outstanding leadership qualities.



Self Esteem

Although our focus is on girls and gender equality, both male and female students can struggle with self-identity and empowerment. Students can sometimes show poor self-esteem in the classroom, and if unaddressed, these traits may morph into negative behaviors in the classroom. If a student has poor self-esteem or a lack of responsibility for him/herself, the following behaviors may be seen in class:
Appear sad or depressed
Be withdrawn
Exhibit a negative body image
Be a perfectionist
Have a lack of friends
Make negative comments about work
Say they cannot do something
 
Click here for PBIS strategies to assist students showing poor self-esteem.  
 
 
Developmental Assets Framework:
Search Institute has identified 40 positive strengths and supports youth need to succeed. Some assets are external and focus on relationships and opportunities youth need in their families, schools, and communities. Other assets are internal and focus on social-emotional strengths, values, and commitments. Fostering these 40 assets can help youth develop a stronger sense of self. Click here to learn more about the 40 assets.  
  
 

Girls Alive on Purpose Mentorship 
 

Simply fill out the form and submit to help a girl achieve their "happy" by joining a program focuses on self-discovery through written and verbal expression. This mentorship program helps young girls process emotions and move towards emotional health and character development.
 
Starting January 20, 10 am - 3 pm, with ongoing registration. 
For families to register a daughter, Click Here.
 
 
The 6th Annual Him and Me Dance - Alive on Purpose
 
The Father & Daughter Dance is a memorable experience for fathers and their daughters of all ages.  It will take place on Sunday, August 5.  Click here for ticket information.


Northeast Ohio School Counselor & Social Work Network

Next meeting:
March 19, 2018  12:00-2:30 pm
Click Here  to register
*Registration is recommended, but walk-ins are welcome
Resources will be provided to all attendees      

Suicide: The Ripple Effect 
Highland Springs is sponsoring a showing of Kevin Hines' movie, Suicide: The Ripple Effect. This film is part of a global mission to help reduce the number of suicides and suicide attempts around the world.  Through sharing stories of survival and recovery, we are creating significant awareness of this health crisis, while helping people find the support they need to stay alive, heal, and #BeHereTomorrow!

Date and Location: Thursday, May 10 at Tower City Cinema II

Click Here to reserve your tickets (tickets must be purchased in advance)

 
Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR): Core Competencies for Behavioral Health Professionals

AMSR is a 1-day training designed for all behavioral health professionals working with youth (10-24) to learn how to recognize, assess, and treat suicidality in patients. AMSR provides professionals with a deeper understanding of suicide ideation and its treatment by training participants in how to approach work with suicidal patients, how to understand suicide, how to get important information from patients regarding suicide, how to form accurate judgement on client well-being, and how to safely plan and respond to suicide related-behaviors.

Date and Location: Wednesday, May 23 at the ESC of Cuyahoga County in Independence

Time: 9am - 5 pm

Cost: $35

Click Here to view the AMSR brochure.

Click Here to register (registration opens in April)


Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide (CAMS)

The CAMS model is used to assess patients' suicidality and specifically treat their suicide risk.  CAMS is a three-part training that provides psychologists and counselors with knowledge, skills, and practice in recognizing and treating suicidality in patients.

All participants take:
- A 3-4 hour, self-paced online training.  This training features a series of videos which provide an overview of the CAMS model and how to help suicidal patients.
- An in-person one day training.  This training is conducted by a trained CAMS consultant who leads group members in using the CAMS model through a series of role-play sessions where participants take turns acting as both counselors and patients.
- Group consultation follow up calls.  These follow up calls are offered to participants as ways to discuss successes and trouble-shoot the implementation of the CAMS model with patients.

Dates: CAMS has four upcoming dates with locations all around Ohio.  Click Here for the list of event dates, locations, and instructions to register. 

 
Mary Wise, M.S.W., M.S.C.E., Coordinator | 216-901-4201 

Project AWARE Ohio is a partnership between the Ohio Department of Education, the Center for School Based-Mental Health Programs at Miami University and the Educational Service Centers within three pilot communities: Cuyahoga County, Warren County and Wood County. It is funded through a grant received in 2014  through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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