Boarding Schools for Girls

A May 22 editorial in the Dallas Morning News indicates that the paper's leaders are impressed with the results that have been achieved by students of the state's first all-girls public school:

Five years after the Dallas [Independent School District] embarked on a controversial experiment in single-sex education, the all-girl Irma Lerma Rangel Leadership School is about to graduate its first senior class. Judge for yourself whether the experiment has paid off:

• Last year's Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills score averages for this class ranged from a low of 94.1 percent, in science, to 100 percent, in writing.
• One hundred percent of the senior class, 21 girls, will receive diplomas.
• All 21 graduates are college-bound.
• The total value of scholarships they've received will exceed $1 million.

Such results have failed to halt a national debate over the merits of educating boys and girls in separate schools, but they nonetheless suggest this South Dallas magnet school has a success formula worth emulating.

As single-gender education makes small inroads within the nation's public schools, a number of private boarding schools for girls -- such as the Bromley Brook Boarding School for Girls in Manchester Center, Vermont -- continue to set the standard for offering a wide range of academic support, intensive therapeutic services, and an unmatched level of comprehensive care for adolescent and teen girls.

Labels: single-sex education, public-schools, girls

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A study that appears in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics has discovered that girls who have been abused or who use a "provocative online identity" may be at increased risk for being victimized by individuals they meet over the Internet.

According to a May 26 article on the CNN website, a research team under the direction of Jennie G. Noll of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio reached this conclusion after studying the online activities of 173 girls between the ages of 14 and 17:

The study looked at 104 abused and 69 non-abused. .... Abused adolescents -- who had suffered neglect, physical abuse or sexual abuse -- were recruited from child protective agencies, the authors said.

Of the girls studied, 54 percent were white and 46 percent were minorities, of which 82 percent were black and 18 percent were mixed-race, the authors say.The authors held a laboratory session in which they asked the girls to create avatars on a program designed to mimic a popular social networking site, which the authors did not name in the study.

Girls could choose bust and hip size, clothing type, visible navel piercings and skin, eye and hair colors. Girls were given a range of choices that allowed for a more provocative or conservative avatar.

The authors say 40 percent of the girls reported experiencing sexual advances online, and 26 percent reported meeting someone offline after getting to know the person on the Internet. Abused girls were much more likely to have experienced both, the authors found.

Noll and her research colleagues urged parents to remain vigilant regarding their children's online activities. "Caregiver presence was associated with significantly fewer reports by adolescents of online solicitations," they wrote. "As such, the importance of parental monitoring of adolescent Internet use cannot be understated."

Several other experts have noted that, while the online world offers may social and educational benefits to adolescents and teens, it also poses a range of risks, including potential exploitation, cyberbullying, and Internet addiction.

Labels: girls, online, internet

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A study that was conducted by a University of Buffalo sociologist indicates that risk-taking behavior during the teen years can have a strong impact on the likelihood of marriage later in life. According to a May 20 article by Patricia Donovan of the UB Reporter, sociologist Sampson Lee Blair reached this conclusion after analyzing more than a decade's worth of data:

A national study of data collected over 12 years finds that delinquent teens marry earlier than their peers, while substance-abusing teens -- especially girls who abuse marijuana -- marry later than peers, if at all. ...

Delinquency was defined as anti-social behavior, including frequency of running away, arrests, physical fights, and behavioral problems in school.

The study analyzed data from a U.S. Department of Education survey collected from a nationally representative sample of 9,813 young adults from 1988 to 2000. The results were presented at the March conference of the Eastern Sociological Society in Baltimore.

Are you looking for help with an adolescent daughter who beginning to use alcohol or other drugs, exhibit defiance, or engage in other behaviors that are putting her on an unhealthy path? A residential middle school for girls can provide the structure, support, and guidance that your daughter needs.

Labels: teenagers, girls, behaviors

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Most women admit to being dissatisfied with their bodies. But most are also focused on the wrong things: size instead of health, or calorie reduction instead of healthy eating. Even women whose body mass index (BMI) were within a healthy range said they thought they were overweight.

"The priorities are flipped," Dr. Molly Poag, chief of psychiatry at New York's Lennox Hill Hospital, said in a May 11 article by Associated Press writer Lauran Neergaard. Female athletes, Dr. Poag told the AP writer, are much better role models than supermodels are. "There's an undervaluing of physical fitness and an overhauling of absolute weight and appearance for women in our culture."

An AP-iVilliage poll of 1,000 adult women found that half didn't like their weight, but just one-third disliked their physical condition. This evidence supports the common perception that the popular focus in our society is on appearance, rather than health -- a notion that is both backwards and potentially dangerous.

At boarding schools such as New Leaf Academy in Hendersonville, North Carolina, providing a wide range of academic support services and therapeutic opportunities are among the many efforts that are focused on building female students' self-confidence and improving self-esteem for girls.

Labels: health, self-esteem, body image

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An Australian study has led researchers to conclude that teen girls who have sex before they are emotionally ready are likely to regret the experience.

According to a May 20 article on the Indian Express website, a research team from the University of Western Australia interviewed reached this conclusion after interviewing 68 teen girls (ages 14 to 19).

"If they have sex at a young age, before they are ready, it is reflected on as an unpleasant experience which they regret. This is an undesirable outcome in itself," said Dr Rachel Skinner, the study's lead researcher.

Early sexual activity, the article reported, has been associated with a number of risk factors, including unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Mental health experts have also noted that teen sex can lower self-esteem and damage a young person's emotional health.

Labels: teenagers, sex, self-esteem

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Teens have stronger ties to their parents today than any time in the past 30 years, according to a study from Project Teen Canada. Researchers said the results would probably be the same for the United States.

Every eight years, researchers with Project Teen Canada ask 5,500 teens the same questions about their relationships with their parents.

• This year only 42 percent of the surveyed teens said they had arguments at least once a week with their parents; in 1992, 52 percent of surveyed teens reported weekly arguments with their parents.
• Eighty percent of teens said they enjoyed their parents' company, compared to 70 percent in 1992.
• Fewer than 40 percent said their parents did not understand them, compared to 58 percent who answered this way in 1992.

Reginald Biddy, a sociologist at the University of Lethbridge, said that todays parents are doing a better job of balancing careers and family lives.

"Relational enjoyment requires focus, and focusing requires time," Dr. Biddy said in a May 14 article on the website of the New York Times Magazine. Parents are putting more time into their children, enjoying them more and having more influence over them, thus lowering stress for everyone, Dr. Biddy said in the Times article.

Positive relationships between parents and teens have been cited as among the most important positive influences in the effort to reduce issues including teen substance abuse, teen eating disorders, and teen pregnancy.

Labels: relationships, teenagers, parents, communication

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An inspection of 70 public schools in Los Angeles found that all of them had vendors selling some form of junk food. Thirty of the schools in the L.A. Unified School District allowed street vendors to sell ice cream and other treats to students, and 30 had vending machines on their premises with sugary, high fat foods.

The inspectors, working between September 2008 and January 2009, noted that many school fund-raising groups were also selling candy and other junk foods to students.

The regular consumption of junk food has been identified as a factor in the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States. The effects of childhood obesity may include a wide range of social, emotional, and physical problems, including predictions of a lowered life expectancy for severely overweight young people.

For these reasons, many public schools, private schools, and boarding schools have instituted anti-junk-food policies to help encourage healthy eating among students and staff.

Labels: school, obesity

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On May 3, KTRK-13 (an ABC affiliate in Houston, Texas) aired a news segment by about teen dating violence that demonstrated a startling disconnect between the prevalence of teen dating violence and parents' awareness of the degree to which the problem has permeated today's youth culture. In the segment, KTRK's Sharron Melton cited the following statistics:

According to the US Bureau of Justice, about one in three high school girls have been, or will be pushed, slapped or hit by a boyfriend. And 40 percent of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 know someone their age who has been abused. ...

According to a survey by the National Teen Dating Violence Prevention Initiative, 81 percent of parents say they do not believe dating violence is an issue, and 54 percent admit they have not even spoken to their child about dating violence.

Though dating violence is a significant problem among young people, many adolescents and teenagers are not able to identify signs that they are in an abusive relationship -- and many who are being abused do not know how to escape the violence.

Experts advise all parents of teenagers to educate themselves and their children about the signs and dangers of teen dating violence, and to take action if they suspect that their teen is involved in an abusive relationship.

Labels: relationships, teenagers, violence, dating

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Modern American teen girls and young women may have more opportunities than ever before, but a May 9 article by Jackie Burrell of the Contra Costa Times notes that these options are often accompanied by an unhealthy pressure that can have a debilitating effect those who feel forced to achieve "supergirl" status:

In what may be the ultimate irony, there's never been a better time to be an American girl -- or one that's as risky. Teen suicide, depression, cutting and eating disorder rates are soaring.

In 2004-05 suicide rates jumped 76 percent for tweens and 32 percent for teenage girls ages 15-18, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And some experts say the troubling mental health statistics have much to do with the crushing burden society puts on teenage girls.

It's no longer enough to do well in school and be a caring, devoted friend. Today's young women are expected to combine high-caliber academic, athletic and extra-curricular performance, with the style and looks of "Gossip Girl's" Serena van der Woodsen.

In their efforts to meet "supergirl" expectations, many girls "confess they're practically mainlining caffeine and Red Bull," Burrell reports. "They're using Aderall, the ADHD medication that's misused on college campuses to sharpen focus and pump up test-taking ability."

Depression, anxiety, and the abuse of energy drinks and prescription pills can have devastating effects on teen girls and young women, many of whom may require residential substance abuse treatment in order to overcome their self-defeating behaviors and pursue a healthier and more satisfying future.

Labels: depression, girls, suicide, drug_use

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The teen pregnancy rate is rising in the U.S. state of Georgia, and pediatric health advocates are arguing that ineffective outreach efforts are creating a crisis within the state. In a May 5 post on the website of Georgia television station WMGT-41, Liz Foster reported that at least one expert predicts that the situation may not improve any time soon:

Three in ten girls in the U.S. become pregnant at least once before age 20. That's according to the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention's website, which also says Georgia has the 8th highest teen birth rate in the nation.

Dr. David Harvey with the North Central Health District, says part of that can be blamed on state budget cuts, which have trimmed family planning program funds by almost 20 percent. He calls the issue a "major problem" in Middle Georgia and says it will get worse before it gets better. ...

Dr. Harvey says teen pregnancy rates permeate all socioeconomic statuses and affect everyone. From hospital space to medical costs, he says each pregnancy has an impact on society.

Many experts have warned that continued increases in teen sex rates have been associated with a wide range of social, developmental, and health problems.

Labels: pregnancy, health, teenagers, sex

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MEI Futures Academy, a residential charter school for teenage mothers in Washington, D.C., has been ordered to close because of chronic truancy, curriculum problems, and questions about the quality of services that were provided for special education students.

The school, which had been in operation for the past two years, provided both boarding and day school services to young mothers (ages 14 to 21), as well as kindergarten and pre-K programs for students' children who were between the ages of three and five.

According to an April 21 article by Bill Turque on the Washington Post's "DC Wire" blog, the D.C. Public Charter School Board claimed that MEI Futures Academy was in "material violation" of its operating agreement:

MEI had struggled to establish an acceptable curriculum, officials said, adding that none of its high school students were on track for a diploma. Last year, not one of the 15 tenth graders who took the DC-CAS standardized test achieved proficiency levels in either reading or math. Enrollment has dwindled to just 31 students from 66 in fall 2007.

Chronic truancy was an especially serious issue. An unannounced audit earlier this year showed that 17 of the 31 students were not there.

Charter schools such as MEI are not the only option for teen mothers who are struggling to complete their education. For example, at Youth Care, Inc., a private therapeutic boarding school in Draper, Utah, students can enroll in a unique teen pregnancy program that features counseling, behavior therapy, academics, and parenting education.

Labels: education, pregnancy, parenting, teenagers, girls

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Teen girls who have struggled to find fashionable clothing in larger sizes may be in for a more enjoyable shopping experience, as two large retailers have announced upcoming lines that will be geared toward plus-sized girls.

Forever 21's line, Faith 21, will have sizes ranging from XL-2X, while Target's Pure Energy line will go up to a size 30.

Faith 21 will feature of-the-moment pieces like sheer peasant blouses, denim leggings and curve-hugging mini dresses. Pure Energy will have skinny jeans, maxi dresses and sleeveless party tops.

"In the past we've had XL sizes and we would sell out of them so quickly," said Heidi Canalizo, a regional manager at Forever 21. "Our customers have been asking for this for so long and in the past few years we've really decided it's time to get into it. Not everyone is a size 2." (Source: CNN, April 29, 2009)

Clothing market analyst Marshal Cohen told CNN that the move toward larger sizes makes good financial sense. "You're looking at an under $2 billion business that could easily grow to a $4 billion, $5 billion business within ... a year or two," Cohen said.

The U.S. and many other nations have experienced significant increases in teen overweight and obesity rates in recent decades.

Labels: teenagers, girls, overweight

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Weight discrimination is one of the many challenges facing overweight young women as they attempt to earn a place in the working world.

A study by Dr. Mark Roehling of Michigan State University has revealed that being overweight may hold women back in their careers, but may actually help men.

Dr. Roehling and his colleagues went through records from 1,000 large companies.

• Among female bosses, 22 percent were overweight, compared to a national average of 29 percent of American women.


• Among male bosses, 61 percent were overweight, compared to 41 percent of men.


• Only five percent of the bosses were obese, compared to between 36 and 38 percent of all Americans.

For adolescent and teen girls who are also struggling with behavior problems, substance abuse disorders, or other conditions that negatively impact their healthy development, being overweight adds yet another obstacle to overcome en route to a more satisfying future.

Labels: girls, career, overweight, discrimination

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