Girlstart Program Impact Statement 2013-2014 School Year May 2014 Girlstart is deeply grateful to you because you make our work possible. Thanks to you, Girlstart is providing high-quality, hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programming to thousands of girls and community members in Central Texas as well as in high-need communities across the state and beyond. Owing to your advocacy, volunteerism, and financial support, Girlstart is changing the game for girls in STEM. Numbers Served Summary (June 2013-May 2014) Program Girlstart After School 2013-14 Girlstart Summer Camp 2013 Girls in STEM 2014 Community STEM Programming 2013-14 Teacher Professional Development Total
Participants Served 1,133 girls 586 girls 435 girls 14,389 girls and community members 744 educators 17,287 girls and community members
Program Impact Summary Girlstart After School 2013-14 • Number of girls reached: 1,133 • Number of After School programs in Central Texas: 36 (908 girls) • Number of After School programs in ‘to Go’ communities: 9 (225 girls) Girlstart Summer Camps 2013 • Number of girls reached: 586 • Number of girls who participated at no cost (through need-based scholarships and free Camps ‘to Go’): 217 (37%) • Number of Camps offered: 22 (14 at Girlstart; 8 in ‘to Go’ communities) • Projected for 2014: 600 girls, 24 camps (14 at Girlstart; 10 in ‘to Go’ communities) Girls in STEM 2014 • Number of girls reached: 435 • Number of girls who participated at no cost (scholarships): 197 (45%) • Number of volunteers: 154 Public STEM Programming 2013-14 • Number of girls and community members reached: 14,389 • Number of free events held: 62
Teacher Professional Development 2013-14 • Number of educators reached: 744 • Number of STEM CREW members trained: 62 • Number of in-service educators reached: 682
Detailed Program Impact Girlstart After School 2013-14 • Number of girls reached: 1,133 • Number of After School programs in Central Texas: 36 (908 girls) • Number of After School programs in ‘to Go’ communities: 9 (225 girls) Girlstart After School is a free, weekly program designed to increase girls’ skills, interest, and confidence in STEM. This intensive intervention involves sequential, informal, hands-on, and inquiry-based activities in topics across the STEM acronym. It is designed to build girls’ skills in STEM as well as their interest and confidence in STEM activities, studies, and careers. Girlstart After School also fosters real-world experiences in collaboration, teamwork, creative problem solving, and critical thinking. In addition to directly reaching girls, Girlstart After School also supports whole-school communities through a suite of supplemental, wraparound services (provided at no cost) for our partner schools. These services include pedagogical and strategic support to STEM teaching efforts, Math & Science Nights and Science Extravaganzas, parent association meetings, and teacher professional development. In addition, at 7 of our Austin ISD partner schools, we have added an additional hour of computer science each week. This additional intervention supports computer science skills among a cohort of 140 girls. And at one school, we provided computer science exclusively. Girlstart After School is the largest program of this type in the nation. It is also diverse: of the 1,133 4th through 8th grade girls who participated in Girlstart After School in 2013-14, 63% are Latina, 17% are white, 12% are African-American, 4% are Asian-American, and 4% identify as multiethnic. 49% of participants are first-generation college aspirants, and 70% are considered economically disadvantaged (meaning that they qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at school). Girlstart After School partner schools in 2013-2014 include: Central Texas: Austin ISD The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders (CS program) Cook Elementary (also receives Girlstart CS program) Govalle Elementary (also receives Girlstart CS program) McBee Elementary (also receives Girlstart CS program) Norman Elementary Ortega Elementary Palm Elementary (also receives Girlstart CS program) Pleasant Hill Elementary Rodriguez Elementary Widen Elementary Wooldridge Elementary (also receives Girlstart CS program) Wooten Elementary (also receives Girlstart CS program)
Zavala Elementary (also receives Girlstart CS program) Central Texas: Del Valle ISD Baty Elementary Gilbert Elementary Central Texas: Georgetown ISD Cooper Elementary McCoy Elementary Mitchell Elementary (2 programs) Pickett Elementary Williams Elementary Central Texas: Hays CISD Fuentes Elementary (2 programs) Hemphill Elementary Pfluger Elementary Tobias Elementary Dallas: Mansfield ISD Asa Low Intermediate Erma Nash Elementary McAllen: McAllen ISD Alvarez Elementary Central Texas: Pflugerville ISD Copperfield Elementary Dessau Elementary Northwest Elementary Parmer Lane Elementary Riojas Elementary Wieland Elementary Central Texas: Round Rock ISD Caraway Elementary Voigt Elementary Wells Branch Elementary San Antonio: Northeast ISD Camelot Elementary San Antonio: Northside ISD Hatchett Elementary Linton Elementary Martin Elementary Mary Hull Elementary
Central Texas: Taylor ISD Main Street Intermediate Taylor Middle School Waco: Connally ISD Connally Elementary
Girlstart After School is particularly impactful for girls because of the length, consistency, and rigor of the program. All lessons are aligned to Texas’s learning standards (TEKS) as well as Next Generation Science Standards. Our STEM CREW (described below) lead Girlstart After School; they are preservice teachers or STEM majors. This staffing model ensures that participants gain instruction and mentorship from talented and meaningful role models for girls. Girlstart’s end-of-year evaluation (May 2014) demonstrated the following progress against our desired program goals: Goal #1: Participants will demonstrate competency in conducting scientific inquiry, investigations and reasoning and will gain competency in STEM skills. • 92% of participants demonstrated competence in using the scientific method and engineering design process to solve problems. • 88% reported a willingness to redesign their activity if it did not work on the first try (demonstrating confidence in solving problems). • 89% agreed with the statement, “I like science!” Goal #2: Increase # of girls interested in continued/future STEM study (in high school and college), including interest in STEM electives, additional STEM study, STEM higher education, and STEM majors. • 91% of participants report using science outside of Girlstart. • 93% agree that “if I try hard, I can be good at science.” • 87% want to return to Girlstart next school year. • 81% report interest in taking more STEM courses in middle & high school. • 95% understand that doing well in STEM in school means that they are more likely to get into college. • 96% report intent to go to college (we find this especially gratifying given that 49% would be first-generation college aspirants). Goal #3: Increase # of girls interested in STEM careers. • 95% of participants understand that doing well in STEM in college can lead to a better job. • 96% understand that higher education can lead to increased career opportunities. • 73% report a strong desire to pursue a STEM career (97% report at least a moderate interest in a STEM career).
Additionally: • 86% of participants strongly agree with the statement, “I feel that I can be myself at Girlstart After School.” • 89% of participants tell their friends and families about what they learn at Girlstart. Girlstart is also conducting a longitudinal study to assess the impact of Girlstart After School participation on girls’ academic progress, subsequent course selection, graduation rates, and college enrollment. The first iteration of this study, completed in April 2014, evidenced several significant findings: •
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Over two years, 71% of Austin ISD Girlstart After School participants passed the 5th grade science STAAR exam (Texas’s state-mandated standardized test). Yet only 48% of a comparison group of non-participant girls matched on key demographic indicators (and 62% of students overall at our partner schools) passed. Girlstart After School participants also achieved the Commended Performance status on 5th grade math and science tests at a higher rate than non-participant girls. This means that girls do not have to test into the pre-AP track. After leaving Girlstart After School, participants enrolled in advanced and pre-AP math and science classes at a rate of 1.58 courses per girl (over three years), compared to 1.00 courses per non-participant girl in our comparison group.
As we continue delivering Girlstart After School, Girlstart will expand this study to include more data from more partner schools and districts. We will also continue to collect data as more participants age into middle and high school, graduate, and enroll in higher education. Girlstart Summer Camps 2013 • Number of girls reached: 586 • Number of girls who participated at no cost (through need-based scholarships and free Camps ‘to Go’): 217 (37%) • Number of Camps offered: 22 (14 at Girlstart; 8 in ‘to Go’ communities) • Projected for 2014: 600 girls, 24 camps (14 at Girlstart; 13 in ‘to Go’ communities) Girlstart Summer Camps are week-long (40 hour) STEM programs for girls in the 4th through 8th grades. These programs achieve consistent positive outcomes by combining formal and informal educational strategies with challenging and relevant STEM curriculum. Girlstart Summer Camp provides individualized experiences that develop a strong conceptual understanding of STEM subjects and increase participants’ interest in STEM activities, further study, and careers. Since 2010, Girlstart has expanded our Summer Camp programming to reach more girls, both within the Austin area and in high-need communities in Texas and across the nation. Girlstart now offers 14 weeklong Camps at the Girlstart STEM Center in Austin and additional Camps ‘to Go’ in other communities. Because our Camps ‘to Go’ are designed to reach girls who
otherwise might never have access to high-quality STEM programming, especially during the summer months, all Camps ‘to Go’ are offered to girls at no cost. This program delivery strategy enables us to reach more girls in more locations by running several Camps concurrently. In 2013, 26% of Girlstart Summer Camp participants were Latina, 50% were white, 7% were African-American, 12% were Asian-American, and 5% identified as multiethnic. 22% reported that they receive free or reduced-price lunch at school. 37% of participants, including all participants at our 8 Camps ‘to Go,’ attended Girlstart Summer Camp on scholarship. In addition to designing our own curricula, Girlstart focuses on building innovative activities by using vanguard tools and strategies with which to develop unique and content rich curriculum, including: • • •
Start to finish video game development (CS; coding and programming): 393 girls programmed playable video games in summer 2013. Start to finish 3D, using Google Sketchup and a choice of two 3D printers (productive and reductive): 195 girls designed and printed in 3D in summer 2013. App development & computer animation (CS; coding and programming): 196 girls created mobile apps and 111 girls programmed computer animations in summer 2013.
2013 Girlstart Summer Camp locations were: • • • • • • • •
Girlstart STEM Center, Austin, Texas (14 weeks) Ralph Pfluger Elementary, Buda, Texas (1 week) Hemphill Elementary, Kyle, Texas (1 week) Columbia Neighborhood Center, Sunnyvale, California (2 weeks) Windcrest Elementary, San Antonio, Texas (1 week) Duck University, Taylor, Texas (1 week) East Broad Community Center, serving girls from Erma Nash Elementary, Mansfield, Texas (1 week) Boys and Girls Clubs of Bellevue, Bellevue, Washington (1 week)
Summer Camp themes for 2013 were: Under the Sea (3 weeks at Girlstart and 8 weeks at Camps ‘to Go’) In Under the Sea, girls learned about the oceans and the multitude of ways that STEM careers and activities impact the earth’s vital resource. They explored marine biology, the electromagnetic spectrum, oil spill cleanup, engineered protection for baby turtles, and dissected starfish. In addition to programming robots to solve an oil spill challenge, girls designed their own video game using Girlstart’s technology toolbox. Girlstart used the “Under the Sea” theme for all Camps ‘to Go’ in 2013.
Girlstart Games (3 weeks at Girlstart) In our Girlstart Games camp, girls mastered skills and principles in engineering, biology, botany, physics, chemistry, and sensors. They engineered survival shelters, learned to identify edible & poisonous plants, and tested principles of physics and aerodynamics while practicing their marksmanship. Girls designed and printed a 3D tribute badge using Google Sketchup and Girlstart’s 3D printers, and programmed an Android app using AppInventor. Toy Shop Mystery (4th-5th) and Boutique Detective (6th-8th) (2 weeks at Girlstart) Girls solved a week-long mystery as well as daily challenges in forensics. Forensicsbased lessons included cryptography, fiber and hair investigations, and footprint/soil/tire track analysis. Each day, the morning’s forensic puzzle posed an engineering challenge for the afternoon, including prototyping, robotics, and lean manufacturing. Thematic technology activities also introduced girls to computer programming and engineering. All participants created a video game (using our game development toolbox), storyboarded and animated a commercial that promoted their toy prototype, and all girls designed and printed in 3D. Eco Girl (2 weeks at Girlstart) At Eco Girl, girls learned about ways to go green as well as green careers as they explored creative lessons designed to introduce ecological engineering concepts and skills. Girls not only met with environmental engineers throughout the week, but they learned about channeling the power of the earth to generate energy as well as strategies to proactively solve global problems, and designed their own green energy solutions. Girls built solar cars, designed solar homes, and built buildings with rooftop gardens. Girls also programmed a video game using our game development toolbox, and developed an Android app using AppInventor. 2013’s Summer Camp program evaluation demonstrated the following progress against program objectives: Goal #1: Participants will demonstrate competency in conducting scientific inquiry, investigations and reasoning and will gain competency in STEM skills. • 93% of participants demonstrated acumen in conducting scientific investigations and reasoning (using the scientific method and the engineering design process effectively). • 98% of participants reported confidence in using engineering design process and 98% of participants reported confidence in using the scientific method. • 93% of girls know what ‘STEM’ stands for. • For Summer Camp ‘to Go’, 88% demonstrated facility in an open-ended question that asked girls to demonstrate their understanding of the process. On the pre-survey, only 25% of girls reported strong confidence in using the engineering design process, yet on the post-survey, 61% reported the same.
Goal 2: Increase # girls interested in selecting STEM at HS/college • 92% of participants hope to take more STEM classes in high school. • 96% of participants understand that success in STEM courses can help them achieve college enrollment. • 99% of participants plan to attend college when they grow up. Goal 3: Increase # of girls interested and confident in STEM • 89% indicated interest in science. • 95% indicated that “if I try hard, I can be good at science.” • 88% reported that “I feel I can be myself at Girlstart camp.” Goal 4: Increase # of girls interested in pursuing STEM careers • 75% of participants expressed at least a moderate interest in entering a STEM career. • 95% of participants demonstrated awareness of the importance of higher education as a way to broaden their career options. Additionally, computer science outcomes include: • 92% expressed an interest in programming additional video games or apps, and 79% say that they think developing games or apps would be a fun career. • 98% reported that it was fun to program a video game or app in Summer Camp. The themes for Girlstart’s 2014 Summer Camps are: Designer Paradise (10+ weeks of Summer Camp ‘to Go’) Girls will learn principles of engineering, industrial and 3D design, robotics, and computer programming. They will participate in creative engineering and design projects, including designing an amusement park ride, an LED ring, solar cars and ovens, and windmills, through which they will explore a variety of engineering specialties, including chemical, electrical, mechanical, and structural engineering. Animal World (3 weeks at Girlstart) Girls will explore habitats, adaptations, and body systems of unique creatures in the animal kingdom. Girls will design a virtual 3D habitat and program an animal habitat app while they learn about careers in ecology, biology, engineering, and computer science. Sound Check (2 weeks at Girlstart) Girls will discover the science behind music by designing an instrument, making and playing a floor piano, and programming an app to make music. They will explore careers in app development and acoustic, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Ice Age (2 weeks at Girlstart)
Girls will experience the science behind the cold, studying various topics including cold weather animals, clothing, weather, and the Winter Olympics. Featured careers will include biology, climatology, mechanical engineering, and computer science. Adventure Land (2 weeks at Girlstart) Girls will create and construct their very own theme park by engineering a roller coaster, designing amusement park buildings, producing an animated commercial, and more. Girls will learn about careers in industrial and structural engineering, and computer science. Girlstart & the Olympians (2 weeks at Girlstart) Girls will learn about STEM through ancient mythology: they will create a rocket to help Hermes fly, engineer a boat to cross the river Hades, and discover the stories behind the stars in Girlstart’s Mini-Planetarium. They will explore careers in aeronautical and mechanical engineering, astronomy, and materials science. Girls in STEM 2014 • Number of girls reached: 435 • Number of girls who participated at no cost (scholarships): 197 (45%) • Number of volunteers: 154 Each spring, Girlstart’s annual Girls in STEM conference brings 4th through 8th grade girls together with female role models in STEM careers for a day of hands-on STEM workshops. The conference is designed to introduce girls to professional women working in STEM, who inspire the girls to consider and pursue STEM careers. In 2014, 84 women leaders were presenters and co-presenters at Girls in STEM, offering 23 different workshops in STEM topics. Workshop activities ranged from building edible microchips and recording brain activity to programming LEGO Mindstorm robots and running forensic DNA tests. 70 generalist volunteers also contributed more than 400 volunteer hours, helping make this day a success. Girlstart was able to offer scholarships to 197 of this year’s 435 Girls in STEM participants, thanks to our generous community of donors and friends. Results of the 2014 Girls in STEM program evaluation include: • • • • • •
92% of participants reported that they enjoy doing STEM activities. 94% of girls agreed with the statement, “if I try hard, I can be good at STEM!” 98% reported that they intend to go to college. 87% reported a desire to take additional STEM courses in middle or high school. 94% understand that doing well in STEM in school can increase their chance of college admission. 76% report that they are interested in pursuing a STEM career (96% report at least a moderate interest).
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84% report that they enjoyed the opening session, where girls engineered a device that cleaned the Earth’s oceans of detrimental plastic and rubbish that harms ecosystems. 78% think it would be fun to have a job where they create devices to clean up the Earth. 87% report that after Girls in STEM, they are MORE interested in pursuing a career in STEM. 93% of participants were able to name two new STEM careers they learned about at Girls in STEM.
Community STEM Programming 2013-14 • Number of girls and community members reached: 14,389 • Number of free events held: 62 Girlstart also provides free, family-friendly Community STEM programming that involves handson STEM learning activities for thousands of Central Texas girls, families, and community members each year. By offering a wide variety of free programs at many sites, we are able to reach a broad cross section of our community. In addition to introducing children to the fun of STEM learning, Community STEM is designed to make STEM accessible to community members from all walks of life, to educate parents about the importance of STEM, and to educate the public about gender inequity in STEM fields. Girlstart’s Community STEM programs introduce participants to a variety of hands-on activities in robotics, mechanical engineering, webpage design, biology, medicine, forensic science, chemistry, and more. STEM Saturdays: Girlstart offers STEM Saturday Workshops at our Girlstart STEM Center and at partner schools throughout Central Texas. These hands-on learning experiences foster 1st through 8th grade girls’ interest and confidence in STEM by immersing girls in dynamic, hands-on activities and introducing them to positive female role models in these areas. Workshops are led by our STEM CREW in a welcoming, allgirl environment. Science Extravaganzas: Science Extravaganzas are traveling science events in diverse neighborhoods that reach hundreds of girls and families. Each Extravaganza offers 1012 booths with dynamic, hands-on science and technology activities surrounding a common theme (eg Starry Science, Weather Fest). DeSTEMber: Girlstart’s online DeSTEMber initiative is designed to keep children engaged in STEM learning during the winter school holidays by providing a free activity for each day of the month of December. Activities and experiments are gender-neutral and low-cost, and can be done using materials many families have at home. DeSTEMber also engages students through numerous Google Hangouts with STEM professionals from partner institutions worldwide (past partners have included the San Diego Zoo, CERN, Shedd Aquarium, and National Geographic). The DeSTEMber website also features a suite of support materials that enable educators to use DeSTEMber activities in their classrooms. Students, teachers, and community members
reached through DeSTEMber and other online initiatives are not included in our Community STEM reach numbers. Community STEM Events: Girlstart conducts extensive outreach activities designed to introduce informal STEM topics and learning to our community. These Community STEM Events take the form of our traveling StarLab program or use of our on-site STEM Studio and Mini-Planetarium (‘Starry Nights’), assistance to schools with science and/or math nights, and STEM activities at community organizations and their events. Teacher Professional Development 2013-14 • Number of educators reached: 744 • Number of STEM CREW members trained: 62 • Number of in-service educators reached: 682 In order to effectively support Girlstart program delivery and scale-up, Girlstart has developed and formalized a training program for part-time staff. Our STEM CREW internship / teacher preparation program trains and supports a cadre of Girlstart interns who are pre-service teachers either in the University of Texas UTeach program, or other colleges of education (occasionally STEM majors or alumna of our programs). We prepare these future teachers for effective STEM teaching by providing them with the pedagogical and practical skills they will need to engage students in STEM. At the same time, the STEM CREW lead all Girlstart programs, providing consistency to our program delivery. STEM CREW program elements also nurture a personal framework that fosters their future development and growth as teachers. In 2013, Girlstart implemented a rigorous training program for the STEM CREW, which involves more than 100 hours of training and classroom time each semester. Since June of 2013, we recruited and trained 62 individual STEM CREW members; many STEM CREW return to Girlstart semester after semester. To further address the need for high-quality math and science teachers, Girlstart provides professional development services to in-service teachers at our After School partner schools and nationwide. Our Teacher Professional Development (TPD) services are offered at no cost, but to bring these services to a wider national audience, some training sessions take place at conferences for educators (such as the CAST Teacher Resource Fair and the annual NAA convention). Girlstart offers a variety of TPD topics including: • • •
Gender equity in the classroom; Bringing informal learning into the formal classroom; and, Specific curriculum such as underwater robotics, circuitry, STEM icebreakers, and DeSTEMber activities.
As we build our suite of resources for STEM teaching, we aim to continue increasing the number of educators we can reach through our Professional Development programs. In this
way, Girlstart can impact even more students, and increase the capacity of teachers, schools, and districts to deliver high-quality STEM education. Horizon: 2014 and Beyond Girlstart is in the process of carrying out detailed workplan for the final year of its current 3-year strategic plan. For us, 2014 is a year of reflection and analysis as we consider the scope, and the framework, of our next strategic plan. In 2011, Girlstart staff and board put together an ambitious plan that defined key growth points, as well as defining the formalization and maturation of the organization’s functions, between 2012 and 2014. In almost every aspect, Girlstart has achieved, if not exceeded, the goals established in this plan. We now have some key questions to ponder as the organization puts forth another 3-year plan. Throughout 2014, as we assemble the next plan, we are gaining the input from our stakeholders as well as national leaders in STEM (and out-of-school time programming) so that the defining of our goals for 2015-2018 are clear and appropriate for our mission, at the same time the plan establishes the baseline for our goals as well as our aspirations for scale up. In the 2014-15 school year, Girlstart anticipates partnerships with 50+ schools for Girlstart After School, reaching at least 1,200 girls each week. We also aim to reach more than 600 girls through Girlstart Summer Camps in summer 2014, and 10,000+ girls, families, and community members through our Community STEM programs in 2014. It is only owing to you that we have been able to accomplish what we have during the past year, and it is only because of your continued dedication to our mission that we will be able to reach our goals in the coming year. We are deeply grateful for all that you do to make our work possible. Because of you, more girls will be inspired to take on the world’s greatest challenges. Thank you!