From the AAUW Theme Team …
For those interested in getting involved with the National Girls
Collaborative Project, I prepared some ideas below. Maybe some of this
information would work for some of the blogs and other listservs you are
part of.
Carolyn Hayek
AAUW Liaison for Mountain Pacific Region
National Girls Collaborative Project
National Girls Collaborative Project
Advancing the Agenda in Gender Equity
For Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
The AAUW Educational Foundation, in partnership with the Puget Sound Center
for Teaching, Learning and Technology (based in Bothell, Washington), has
received a substantial grant from the National Science Foundation to support
the expansion of the National Girls Collaborative Project from a regional
organization to a national support and financing network for projects which
encourage K-12 girls to study STEM subjects and to consider STEM careers.
Individual AAUW members are encouraged to get involved in a variety of ways:
1. Read about AAUW’s role in this project in the most recent issue of
Outlook magazine and review the information about NGCP on the AAUW website:
www.aauw.org/education/ngcp.
2. Search the on-line program directory to see what programs are listed in
your area. If you or your branch are involved in programs which encourage
girls in STEM fields and the project is not listed, encourage the leader of
the project to add it to the list and, at the same time, sign up to get
e-mail news of NGCP activities. Projects to be listed include career
conferences, such as Expanding Your Horizons, and scholarship and student
recognition programs, if they target or recognize girls in STEM fields.
(Science, technology, engineering and math.)
3. Use the information you find in the program directory and other areas of
the website as a resource for possible branch programs or to find possible
partners for community projects.
4. Spread the news about this project to other members of your branch and
community. This project periodically holds conferences, throughout the
country and through webcasting, that AAUW members are welcome to participate
in.
5. Plan a future branch project, along with a community partner, and apply
for one of the $1000 mini-grants that will be available in many parts of the
country, starting in the fall of 2007. Watch the website for more details.
6. Explore the Resources page of the National Girls Collaborative website:
www.pugetsoundcenter.org/ngcp/resources/newsletter.html. Review past issues
of the newsletter for news of upcoming events and consider adding yourself
to the listserv to obtain future editions.
7. Watch the NGCP video from the website:
www.pugetsoundcenter.org/ngcp/resources/video.html. Share it with your
branch.
8. Recruit AAUW members and others interested in encouraging girls to pursue
STEM for leadership positions in this project. Each NGCP region has a
Champions Board of community and business leaders as well as a steering
committee which works together to present local conferences and forums. If
you know of someone who might like to participate, share that information
with your AAUW regional liaison. (See the list of names in the Outlook
article and on the AAUW website.)
9. Get involved and share your ideas. The National Girls Collaborative
Project and AAUW’s role in this project are still evolving. There is room
for the ideas and participation of anyone who supports the goal of improving
gender equity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by
supporting programs which encourage girls to pursue those subject. It would
be wonderful for every branch to be part of the NGCP listserv, for every
branch to have a project listed in the program directory, for every branch
to make sure at least one local community project is also listed, and for
every branch to have at least one member participating either in a local
NGCP event or in a webcast.
10. Come to Phoenix. AAUW members involved in the NGCP will be presenting a
workshop at our national convention in June and also hosting a networking
session on June 30 during the time slot for special interest group meetings.
We are looking forward to having many members participate.