Tucked away behind a partition in Arrillaga Family Recreation Center in Menlo Park, fourth-grade girls played basketball using hoops with rims that were lower than those of their male classmates. Feeling "disappointed" and "hidden" in comparison with the boys on the courts, the girls decided to do something about it.

The efforts of these 12 Oak Knoll School students, who each play in the city of Menlo Park's after-school basketball league, have led to equal rim heights after the students appealed to both their principal and city staff. The basketball league is composed of students in grades three through seven, and includes an elementary school division made up of students from Oak Knoll, Phillips Brooks, Encinal, Las Lomitas and Laurel schools.

The Menlo Park City School District recognized the 12 Oak Knoll girls for their advocacy at a May 7 school board meeting.

Although third- and fifth-graders in the league played on basketball courts with rims of equal height, fourth-grade boys were using 10-foot rims. The fourth-grade girls also had 10-foot rims, but with hoop attachments to lower them to 8.5 feet, which the girls referred to as "baby hoops."

"We would rather miss on higher hoops than make it on lower hoops," fourth-grader Caitlin said during a March 12 presentation to city staff and basketball team coordinators from each of the Menlo Park schools that participate in the league. "Us girls like challenges."

The girls know they are tough and capable of playing with baskets at the same height as the boys' but they weren't given the chance to show it until the rim heights were changed, Caitlin later told The Almanac.

In addition to the rim height concern, the girls were hidden behind a curtain during games since the fourth-grade boys played on the court visible to people when they entered the gym, the girls said. Fourth-grader Priya said she felt disappointed the girls teams weren't as visible.

The city set up a barrier between the two basketball courts to accommodate playing two games simultaneously in the gym on Saturdays so that balls wouldn't bounce between courts and to create a clear marking between games for audience members, said Jarrod Harden, the gym's recreation coordinator.

After the girls brought up their concerns, the city decided to designate a court side for each grade level rather than splitting up the courts by gender. The change will take effect next school year since the league runs from January to March.

"It was a little bit of a surprise no one had brought it to our attention before," Harden said. "But we're always looking to make the league better. You never know something is bothering someone until they tell you. It's good to get the feedback and have them tell us their story."

Harden said the rim height rules existed before he started in his position six years ago. Previously, all students in grades three through five played on courts with attachments that lowered the rims, but over the years coordinators requested changes that resulted in removing the attachments for some groups, he said.

The campaign for change started in January when some of the girls, who dubbed themselves "Girls on a Mission," told their basketball coach, Tara Moeller, how they felt about the rim height differences between boys and girls hoops.

"I told them, 'Whispering is just whispering,' and sat them down after practice and said, 'Tell me how you feel,'" Moeller said. "Even the quietest of girls on the team were very vocal about the fact they had to play on 'baby hoops.' I said it was something they had the ability to change if they could put together their point of view."

The girls discovered that USA Basketball guidelines state that boys and girls between ages 9 and 11, the fourth-grade age range, should play on basketball courts with rims of the same height around 9 feet tall. They took notes on Post-its to formulate their arguments in favor of changing the basket heights, Moeller said.

In February, the girls met with Oak Knoll Principal Kristen Gracia, who said it was a "no-brainer" that they bring the concern to the city's attention.

"As a principal, my hope and goal is that we can help each and every Oak Knoll student develop an equity lens and a voice for change, so they grow up noticing and wondering about the world we live in and then use their voice to create positive change not only for themselves but ultimately for others," Gracia said in an email. "At Oak Knoll, our mission is that every student is an exemplary scholar, a valued friend and a courageous citizen and these girls are a great example of what it means to be Oak Knoll students."

Although the change won't fully go into effect until next school year, the girls played their last game of the season with higher rims.

"We just wanted to help the fourth-grade girls for next year," fourth-grader Vera said.

The girls cheered as they watched the rim attachments come down, said Moeller. The coach said she is proud of the girls, especially for taking action on their own.

"You go into a season as a coach thinking you're going to teach them about life and skills and they ended up teaching coaches and city and administrative staff a lot," she said. "I don't know that they had come into contact with inequality before and they realized they can make change."

-