ESCONDIDO — Girls On The Run San Diego (GOTRSD) and the Escondido Union School District (EUSD) are partnering to support, empower, and inspire students.
Girls On The Run is an international nonprofit that offers social-emotional learning programs through physical activity to support and enhance the emotional and physical strength of girls during a critical stage in their development. The Girls On The Run program inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running and team-based activities.
The 10-week partnered curriculum is taught by GOTR-trained EUSD teachers and uses the end-of-season 5K as a tangible life lesson on setting and achieving goals. This curriculum is available to girls in third through eighth grades at 20 EUSD elementary and middle schools.
“Girls on the Run curriculum successfully combines play, social-emotional learning, and running to create a truly transformative experience for the girls,” said Wendy Threatt, a fourth-grade teacher at Felicita Elementary. “As an educator, I have witnessed many positive changes in and out of the classroom – better grades, school attendance improves, and the girls feel proud to be part of a team. The school’s climate is positively impacted by hosting a team on campus. After 24 years as a teacher, I have not found a more inclusive, supportive, and impactful program.”
Starting in early February, more than 300 EUSD students and nearly 50 EUSD coaches will embark on the 10-week program journey to the 5K finish line, scheduled for May 7 at De Anza Cove. A key feature of the GOTR curriculum is empowering teams to positively impact their communities by designing service projects. The collaborative planning process and execution of these projects helps girls identify both their own and each other’s strengths and to view themselves as leaders.
Strong community partnerships with organizations like Girls On The Run are essential to EUSD, said Superintendent Luis Rankins-Ibarra. “We are thankful that GOTR has chosen to work with us to bring such an extraordinary experience to our district,” Rankins-Ibarra said. “I’m thrilled to have such a life-changing program accessible to hundreds of students. I’m looking forward to watching it grow in EUSD, and I can’t wait to cheer on this year’s participants as they cross the finish line.”
