Beaver Ridge Elementary School is expanding STEM education for girls through the support of the IT Girls Foundation. Recently, the nonprofit organization’s Board of Directors announced their expansion to Beaver Ridge Elementary school with the hope of bringing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) awareness to the school’s 4th and 5th grade girls.
“We are so thrilled to have Beaver Ridge Elementary School joining our IT Girls family. Ms. Luna-Liranzo and Ms. Atkins represent the type of STEM advocates that we need to continue growing our mission and giving more students the opportunity to pursue their passion around these studies,” says co-Founder and CEO of IT Girls Foundation, Grant Shih.
“We look forward to partnering with IT Girls to empower and encourage our young girls to pursue education and careers in STEM,” says Beaver Ridge Elementary School Principal, Martina Luna-Liranzo. According to the Census Bureau, women represent half of the workforce, but only 27% have careers in STEM. “We have spent the last few years perfecting the program to get to this point where we can expand into more schools,” says Roxanne Seymour, IT Girls Foundation President.
“As we continue to build our program with strong and immersive content, as well as a network of professional women who are in the STEM fields, we can only hope that we make a positive and lasting impact on these girls,” says Jennifer Atkins, STEM coordinator for Beaver Ridge Elementary. She adds, “I’m so excited to start an IT Girls chapter at Beaver Ridge! I think it’s so important for young girls to know that the STEM/Computer Science world is not just for boys. I can tell my students every day that girls are able to code and work in the computer science field, but unless they see it for themselves, it doesn’t mean anything to them. Having women who currently work in the field come to the class each week is going to be such an eye-opener for my girls. I hope that this program builds my students’ confidence, strengthens their problem-solving skills, and develops a love for STEM that can help them in their future careers.”
IT Girls Foundation, founded by Grant Shih and Katie Tucker, was created so that young female students who are interested in STEM fields have a structured extra-curricular program to explore and develop their interests and talents. The organization hopes that this prepares them to have a competitive advantage in their academic and career interests and wants to start by targeting 4th and 5th grade girls. This program is designed to guide them through project-based work, partnering with businesses, and involve guest speakers to provide real-world insight, inspiration, and guidance as well as to answer any questions the students may have on how these topics intersect.