Digi Chix: Girls Gone Wired - STEM Opportunities for America's Rural Girls
We are so fortunate to have amazing resources for inner city youth, but, sadly, there aren't a lot of financial resources for rural initiatives. The children in Grayson County, VA are poor and have little access to STEM opportunities. The Digi Chix project will partner girls from Oak Hill Academy with students at Grayson Highland School (PK-6). The girls will offer activities in game creation, website design, and robotics. The Oak Hill students will blog about their experiences working with the children at GHS and the project will be considered successful if GHS students voluntarily remain after school to participate in the program. Statistics will be gathered to determine whether the program helps grades and attendance. A yearly report will mark succeses and struggles.
About You
About You
First Name
Beth
Last Name
Ritter-Guth
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Digi Chix: Girls Gone Wired
Organization Website
Organization Phone
276-579-2378
Organization Address
2635 Oak Hill Rd., Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363
Organization Country
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, VA, Grayson County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
Digi Chix: Girls Gone Wired - STEM Opportunities for America's Rural Girls
What change do you want to bring to the world?
We are so fortunate to have amazing resources for inner city youth, but, sadly, there aren't a lot of financial resources for rural initiatives. The children in Grayson County, VA are poor and have little access to STEM opportunities. The Digi Chix project will partner girls from Oak Hill Academy with students at Grayson Highland School (PK-6). The girls will offer activities in game creation, website design, and robotics. The Oak Hill students will blog about their experiences working with the children at GHS and the project will be considered successful if GHS students voluntarily remain after school to participate in the program. Statistics will be gathered to determine whether the program helps grades and attendance. A yearly report will mark succeses and struggles.
What are the primary activities of your project?
The primary activities are:
1. Weekly after school program (August-May) focusing on game creation, website design, or robotics.
2. NASA Speaker (Astronaut or other speaker held in April or May)
3. Tech Challenge Showcases
What is innovative about your initiative? How is it a new contribution to the field?
This project focuses on rural children and aims to help this underserved population recognize and value opportunities that can propel them into meaningful college and career choices. By offering meaningful hands-on programming to this population, we can break the cycle of poverty that exists in this geographical region.
What stage is your project in?
Operating for less than a year
Tell us about the community that you engage? eg. economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts.
Grayson County is one of the poorest counties in VA. Stripped of its business base, the socio-economic culture is built upon cattle and Christmas Tree farms. There are few career opportunities for children growing in this area, but most children stay locally. Oak Hill Academy is a private boarding school for children that need a change in their academic or social lives. While not a therapeutic school, OHA serves needy students that are seeking a path back to academic success.
Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project
I am the founder of this project. When I moved here last year to teach at Oak Hill, I realized that the local school district has little, if any, technological support or monies devoted to technological initiatives.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured
The first year was a great success. 7 girls from Oak Hill worked together to help promote STEM at Grayson Highland School. We brought in a NASA speaker to present to the children, and we began designing the program for a full-scale 2011-2012 program. We also began collecting NASA artifacts to create a NASA display at the elementary school. Finally, we distributed STEM and Dot.Diva pamphlets at the GHS book fair.
Since the project began in January, our main goal was to offer 1 significant program at the local school and to distribute information to children and families about STEM.
How many people have been impacted by your project?
101-1,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
1,001-10,000
How will your project evolve over the next three years?
As the program grows, more children will be reached at both OHA and GHS. We will increase STEM opportunities by 100% each year for the next 3 years.
Sustainability
What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?
The children at both OHA and GHS are transient and data collection will be difficult, as a result. However, we will ear mark overall performance of the program and individual success of students by year-end assessments and grade evaluations.
Money is always a concern. There is no funding in either the OHA or GHS budget to fund this program. Therefore, we have to operate as close to zero as possible, and seek donations to pay for bus transport for the GHS students participating in the program.
Tell us about your partnerships
Oak Hill Academy is a private boarding school partnered with Grayson Highland School, a public PK-6 school in Grayson County, VA. OHA will provide 'Digi Chix" students (female high schoolers) to serve as mentors to male and female children at GHS.
NASA offers excellent programming and tools for STEM educational initiatives. We will use much of their material.
MIT's Media Lab provides free use of the Scratch programming language program. We will use these resources to teach gaming.
Current annual budget of project, in US dollars
Less than $1,000
Explain your selections
I have paid for the entire program myself. OHA has provided housing to the NASA speaker and gas/associated costs for the speaker visit.
How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?
If I have funding, I will be able to purchase Vex robot kits and provide bussing for students at GHS. If not, I will continue to find ways to help students learn robotics without kits. Instead of the project being a once in a while program, I would like to see it become a weekly initiative and integrated part of GHS's after school program.
Partnerships and Accountability
Please tell us more about how your partnership was formed and how it functions. What specific role does each partner play? What unique resources does each partner bring to the initiative?
Oak Hill is 135 years old and has an excellent reputation in the Grayson County community. They provide my time, van transport for the Digi Chix, and office support. Grayson Highland School provides a computer lab, gym, auditorium, and classroom materials. NASA provides speakers and supplies as requested.
How are you building in accountability for students' successful STEM learning outcomes? Please provide a summary and examples.
There are 2 levels of accountability for this program. First, the Digi Chix have to manage the money for the project, create weekly opportunities, and then deliver them. They will need to learn the concepts thoroughly in order to share them with the students at GHS. Second, the GHS will need to help promote the project and help it become part of the fabric of the school. By showcasing the work students complete in the program, they will help promote STEM activities.
Needs
Investment, Marketing/Media, Pro-bono help (legal, financial, etc.).
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add needs that may not be listed.
In a nut shell, our program needs funding. Specifically, we need to purchase VEX kits and provide money for bussing the GHS students to their homes after the program ends. We would also like to provide a healthy snack before the children leave for home.
Offers
Pro-bono help (legal, financial, etc.).
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add offers that may not be listed.
Right now, I do everything with help from OHA.
 | 93 weeks ago Beth Ritter-Guth said: I could not figure out how to update my proposal, so I am listing ideas below in hopes of someone important finding them! Impact of ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 93 weeks ago Beth Ritter-Guth said: Thank you so much for the advice! I am going in to edit :-) BRG about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 93 weeks ago Christopher Emdin said: I love the fact that you are focusing on rural youth and girls in science. This is such powerful work. However, other than the ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 94 weeks ago Beth Ritter-Guth updated this Competition Entry. |
| 94 weeks ago Beth Ritter-Guth updated this Competition Entry. |
| 94 weeks ago Beth Ritter-Guth submitted this idea. |
