This March Let Us Celebrate the Female Pioneers Who Have Contributed to the STEM Fields

In the United States, Women's History Month traces its beginnings back to the first International Women's Day in 1911. In 1978, the school district of Sonoma, California participated in Women's History Week, an event designed around the week of March 8 (International Women's Day). In 1979 a fifteen-day conference about women's history was held at Sarah Lawrence College from July 13 until July 29, chaired by historian Gerda Lerner.^[2][3] It was co-sponsored by Sarah Lawrence College, the Women's Action Alliance, and the Smithsonian Institution.^[2] When its participants learned about the success of the Sonoma County's Women's History Week celebration, they decided to initiate similar celebrations within their own organizations, communities, and school districts.^[3] They also agreed to support an effort to secure a National Women's History Week.^[3]

In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women's History Week.^[3]The proclamation stated, "From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well. As Dr. Gerda Lerner has noted, 'Women’s History is Women’s Right.' It is an essential and indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision. I ask my fellow Americans to recognize this heritage with appropriate activities during National Women’s History Week, March 2–8, 1980. I urge libraries, schools, and community organizations to focus their observances on the leaders who struggled for equality - Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Tubman, and Alice Paul. Understanding the true history of our country will help us to comprehend the need for full equality under the law for all our people. This goal can be achieved by ratifying the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that 'Equality of Rights under the Law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.'"^[3] Carter was referring to the Equal Rights Amendment, which was never ratified, not to the amendment which did become the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution after his presidency.

In 1981, responding to the growing popularity of Women's History Week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a Women's History Week. Congress passed their resolution as Pub. L. 97-28, which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week."^[4] Throughout the next several years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as Women’s History Week.^[4] Schools across the country also began to have their own local celebrations of Women's History Week and even Women's History Month. By 1986, fourteen states had declared March as Women's History Month. 

In 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women's History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as Women’s History Month.^[4] Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month.^[4] Since 1988, U.S. presidents have issued annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month. (Wikipedia)

For more resources (i.e. videos, photographs, activities, etc.) please click here.

Here are a few pioneers who deserved to be celebrated:

1) Marjorie Lee Brown - was a noted mathematics educator. She was one of the first
    African-American women to receive a Ph. D in mathematics. Browne also saw the
    importance of computer science early on, writing a $60,000 grant to IBM to bring a
    computer to NCUU in 1960 - one of the first computers in academic computing, and
    probably the first at a historically black school. 

Marjorie Lee Brown

2) Kamala Sohonie - was a noted biochemist. She was also the first Indian woman to
    receive a Ph. D in scientific discipline. Please click here to read about other famous
    Indian female scientist. 

Kamala Sohonie

3) Chika Kuroda - was a Japanese chemist whose research focused on natural pigments.
    She was the first woman in Japan to receive a Bachelor of Science. 

Chika Kuroda

Now let's take a look and see how one site in Region 3 is engaging expanded learning youth in STEM Learning Activities.

Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: Sacramento Chinese Community

Service Center

Name of District: Sacramento City Unified School District

Name of School Site: John Cabrillo Elementary School

Grade Level of Activity: 4th and 5th Graders

Number of Students who took part in the activity: 22

Type of Activity: Slime

Learning Outcomes: Students were able to: 

• Learn about chemical reactions
• Learn about the different states of matter (liquid and solid)
• Learn about viscosity
• Learn how to work together
• Learn the basics of Newtonian Fluid

Expanded Learning students learning about chemical reactions.

For more information about this STEM learning activity please email 

Duc-Hanh Nguyen @ duchanh@sccsc.org.

STEM / Expanded Learning and Other Pertinent Articles:

1) The President says that after school doesn't work. That is just not true.

   (Afterschool Alliance article by Rachel Clark March 16, 2017)

2) Why Strong After School Programs Matter
    (Washington Post article by Jodi Grant December 15, 2011)

3) Afterschool Program Quality and Student Outcomes
    (The Expanded Learning and Afterschool Project report by 
    Deborah Lowe Vandell)

4) The Importance of STEM
    (The Hanford Sentinel article by Julissa Zavala March 8, 2017)

5) Teachers eye potential of virtual reality to enhance science instruction

    (Edsource article by Carolyn Jones February 20, 2017)

6) Tracking Chronic Absence: Getting Ready for Prop 47 Grants

    (California Community Schools Network Blog March 2017)

7) Helping Immigrant Students Catch Up, Fast - It takes a Whole School

    (NPR article by Sophia Alvarez Boyd March 10, 2017)

8) I Have Children Crying in the Classroom

    (NPR article by Anya Kamenetz March 9, 2017)

9) How Maker Mindsets Can Be An Easy Fit For Rural Schools

    (KQED article by Leah Shaffer March 8, 2017)

10) Creating is just not a "nice" activity, it transforms

      (Guardian article by Paula Briggs March 17, 2016)

11) Family ties: How to get parents involved in children's learning 

      (Guardian article by Lilufa Uddin February 24, 2017)

12) After School Programs Foster STEM Skills

      (U.S. News article by Anzish Mirza March 1, 2017)

13) Top 10 Job Skills

      (World Economic Forum article by Alex Gray January 19, 2016)

14) DACA One Student's Story  
      (NPR article by Claudio Sanchez March 8, 2017)

15) Coding for All with Free C-STEM Studio for Raspberry Pi
      (UC Davis article by Andy Fell March 14, 2017)

STEM (and other interdisciplinary core content) Activities / Videos / Websites:

1) Safe Zone and ICE Raids resources

    (Teaching Tolerance resources for educators)

2) Classroom Resources for Immigrant Students

    (Teaching Tolerance resources for educators)

3) 31 days of Cool Outdoor STEM Activities for Students

    (Activity Ideas)

4) Applying for College Aid Just Got A Little Harder

    (NPR Radio Clip March 2017)

5) Parent Anxiety, Screen Time And Learning in The Digital Age

     (NPR Radio Clip March 2017)

6) Somali Students Help Teachers Learn What it Is Like to Be a Refugee

     (NPR Radio Clip March 2017)

7) De Young Museum Art and Science Activities

    (Lesson Plans)

8) Lesson Plans for a variety of after school content areas

    (SEDL Website)

STEM Educational Grants:

1) The Big List of Educational Grants and Resources 
     (Edutopia: Updated on March 15, 2017)

2) California After School Network Funding Opportunities
    (CAN Grant Page)

3) After School Funding Database (Afterschool Alliance)

4) Grant Opportunities (Impact Foundry)

5) Bank of The West (Funding Opportunity)

6) Application for Free Computers (RRR Computers)

STEM / Misc. Professional Learning Sessions / Contest / Events: 

1) Kingsley Inspirations High School Art Show 

    (High School Students can submit their art: April 24, 2017 is the 

    deadline to submit)

2) Alternative Energy (Kidz Science) (Grades 3-5)

    (SCOE: May 19, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, Free Admission)

3) Crocker Art Museum: One Day Art Project Workshop

    (SCOE: May 23, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, Free Admission)

4) College and Career Readiness Workshop (Grades 5-12)
    (SCOE: May 31, 2017 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Free Admission)

Thanks again for all that you do in the field. Please keep us posted about STEM events/activities in your area. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Monica Gonzalez-Williams (SCOE: Region 3: After School Regional Lead):
mgonzalez@scoe.net

Phil Romig (SCOE: Science Curriculum Specialist): promig@scoe.net

Mark Drewes (SCOE: Project Specialist II: Expanded Learning) mdrewes@scoe.net

This February and Going Forward, Let's Pledge to Highlight All of the Hidden Figures of the Past

In October of 2012, CA State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson appointed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be California's After School STEM Ambassador for the 2013 calendar year. At the time Tom Torlakson stated:

"Few things are more important to children's education and to California's economy than the STEM subjects, and few people have more vision and commitment to making an impact in kids' lives than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar," Torlakson said. "I've long admired Kareem as an athlete, and I'm delighted now to count him as an ally in giving California's kids every chance to succeed, not just in the classroom, but after school as well."   

But what stood out for me most during this October 2012 CA STEM Symposium are the following two items that Kareem shared with the audience:

"If America is to maintain our high standard of living, we must continue to innovate," said Abdul-Jabbar. "We are competing with nations many times our size, and STEM learning represents the engines of innovation. With these engines we can lead the world, because knowledge is real power."

To me the most powerful part of Kareem's speech came when he stated:

 " My 7' 2" inch frame predestined my future to that of an NBA basketball player. It wasn't only my body type that led me to believe this, but it was also the era that I grew up in. As a child, I did't know that people who came before me, who had my same color of skin had done great things in Science. It wasn't until I started my college career at UCLA that I started learning about all the wonderful, amazing contributions that African Americans had made in the field of Science. If I would have known this when I was younger, maybe this would have set me off on a different career trajectory."

It was also at this conference that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed his children's book that he had just written entitled "What Color is my World? The Lost History of African 
American Inventors." He wrote this book in particular so that African American children of today and tomorrow could see that their ancestors have done great things in the past, continue to do great things, and that the students themselves can do great things in the future.

As educators, parents, community members we must make it our number one goal to unearth all of the hidden figures from the past so that no matter what ethnicity a child is that they can see that people that looked just like them have made tremendous contributions to the society that we all currently live in. 

Some hidden figures that Hollywood has currently unearthed in the movie "Hidden Figures" are:

Katherine G. Johnson an African American physicist and mathematician who made contributions to the United States aeronautics and space programs with the early application of digital electronic computers at NASA. 

Katherine Johnson African American NASA Scientist.

Dorothy Vaughan an African American mathematician who oversaw the staff at West Area Computers and helped NASA win the "Space Race."

Dorothy Vaughan: African American NASA Mathematician.

Mary Jackson an African American mathematician and engineer at West Area Computers and eventually became the first female engineer at NASA who helped NASA win the "Space Race."

Mary Jackson: African  American NASA Mathematician and Engineer.

Watch as Sacramento City Unified School District's Office of Equity and Office of Academics rented out a local theatre and used it as a classroom to unearth and highlight yesterday's Hidden Figures.



Please remember to share the STEM / STEAM activities that you are engaging 
your youth in. We would like to share it in our STEM blog. Please also invite us 
out to your STEM events. 






STEM / Expanded Learning and Other Pertinent Articles:

1) STEM Afterschool (Change the Equation, October 23, 2014)

2) BlackMinds Matter: Supporting the Educational Success of Black
    Children in California (Ed Trust - West, October 26, 2015)

3) Ten Tips to Become a STEM Superstar
    (National AfterSchool Association article by Andy Allan, February 1, 2017) 

4) Unlocking Learning: Science as a Lever for English Learner Equity
    (Ed Trust - West, January 4, 2017)

5) 4 L.A. Colleges get $6 million grants to support Latinos in STEM
    (KPCC Staff - November 30, 2017)

6) STEMtistics (Change the Equation)

7) Not All Fun and Games: New Guidelines Urge Schools to
    Rethink Recess (NPR article by Sophia Boyd, February 1, 2017)

8) Creating a Safe Space for California Dreamers
    (N.Y. Times article by Patricia Leigh Brown, February 3, 2017)

9) Teaching Middle Schoolers to Patent their Creations
     (Edutopia article by Kevin Jarrett, February 1, 2017)

10) Gender Equity in the Classroom 
      (Edutopia article by Rebecca Alber, January 27, 2017)

11) Engaging Children in STEM Education Early!
      (Natural Start Alliance article by Joshua M. Sneideman, December 2013)

12) Get Up, Stand Up: California's Search for Education Equity
      (Public Integrity article by Susan Ferriss, February 6, 2017)

13) The Next Big Blue-Collar Job is Coding
      (Wired article by Clive Thompson, February 8, 2017)

14) Creating a Door Out of Proverty Starts with Partnerships
      (Urban Institute article by Jennifer Peck and Jennifer Hicks, 
      January 13, 2017)

15) Innovative science instruction boosts academic performance among English
       Learners (Edsource article by Carolyn Jones, January 17, 2017)

16) Talking to students about STEM fields boosts test scores and career interest 
      (U Chicago News article by Mark Peters, January 17, 2017)

17) NASA's Real "Hidden Figures"
      (Space.com article by Elizabeth Howell, January 23, 2017)

18) A Growing Threat to Quality Expanded Learning Programs
      (Learning in Afterschool and Summer Blog by Sam Phia, February 6, 2017)




STEM (and other interdisciplinary core content) Activities / Videos / Websites

1) Writing Women Back into Science History (Science Friday - Podcast)

2) 12 Poems to Read for Black History Month (Poets.Org / Poems)

3) Madiba Lessons on The Life of Nelson Mandela 
    (Scholastic Lessons - Grades 7-12)

4) Icebreakers and Energizers  (YDN Network Resources) 

5) 20 Must-Try STEM Activities for Valentine's Day
    (Science Kiddo - Activities)

6) Librarian Approved: 30 Tech Apps to Inspire Creativity and Creation
     (Mindshift - Apps)

7) Share why your students love after school! (After school Alliance Activity)

8) 27 Ideas for Kids Artwork (Buzzfeed Art Activities)

9) Crafts for Kids (PBS Kids Art Activities)

10) Black History Month Lessons and Activities  (Education World)

11) NEA: Black History Month Lessons and Resources (Grades K-12)




STEM / Educational Grants: 

1) The Big List of Educational Grants and Resources 
     (Edutopia: Updated on February 8, 2017)

2) California After School Network Funding Opportunities
    (CAN Grant Page)

3) After School Funding Database (Afterschool Alliance)

4) Grant Opportunities (Impact Foundry)

5) Bank of The West (Funding Opportunity)

6) Application for Free Computers (RRR Computers)

7) Win $5,000 with the Science Everywhere Innovation Challenge
    (Deadline: February 17, 2017)




STEM / Misc. Professional Learning Sessions / Contest / Events: 

1) Region 3 Winter Conference for MS/HS Expanded Learning Practitioners
    (SCOE: February 21, 2017 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, Free Admission)

2) Chemical Reactions - Grades 3-8
    (SMUD: February 22, 2017, 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, Free Admission)

3) Cabbages and Chemistry - Grades 3-8
    (SMUD: March 9, 2017, 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, Free Admission)

4) Project WET Grades K-12
    (SMUD: March 15, 2017, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, Free Admission)

5) Put a Lid on It #2 (Engineering Everywhere) (Grades 6-8)
    (SCOE: March 21, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, Free Admission)

6) Alternative Energy (Kidz Science) (Grades 3-5)
    (SCOE: May 19, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, Free Admission)

7) College and Career Readiness Workshop (Grades 5-12)
    (SCOE: May 31, 2017 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Free Admission)

Thanks again for all that you do in the field. Please keep us posted about STEM events/activities in your area. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Monica Gonzalez-Williams (SCOE: Region 3: After School Regional Lead):
mgonzalez@scoe.net

Phil Romig (SCOE: Science Curriculum Specialist): promig@scoe.net

Mark Drewes (SCOE: Project Specialist II: Expanded Learning) mdrewes@scoe.net

Tis the Season for STEM

Despite the title of this blog post; every season should include STEM. Every child should be exposed to high-quality, hands-on, inquiry-based, project based STEM activities on a daily basis. A STEM-rich background will prepare our students for the 21st century. Meaningful STEM activities will also expand our student's horizons and make them college or career ready. As the recent data from the Great Recession (2007) shows, in California, STEM  skills have stayed in demand even through the economic downturn. There were 1.4 jobs available for every 1 unemployed person that had a STEM background. In comparison, there was only 1 job available for every 4.9 unemployed people who didn't have a STEM background. The U.S. Department of Commerce also highlighted in its report STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future, that STEM jobs are projected to grow by 17% from 2008 to 2018, compared to 9.8 percent growth for non-STEM occupations. STEM workers also command higher wages, earning 26% more than their non-STEM counterparts. We can even take a closer look and look at the E (Engineering) in STEM and see why U.S. companies are lobbying for more H1B visas (the STEM pipeline in america is not producing enough engineers); in the U.S. about 4% of all bachelor's degrees are in engineering, compared with 19% in Asia and 12% in Europe.

We in the after school field have been and can continue to help turn children on to STEM by exposing them to high-quality, hands-on, meaningful STEM activities. Keep in mind though that STEM education is more than just science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; it is an interdisciplinary and applied approach that is coupled with real-world, problem-based learning (Gateways East Bay STEM Network). This means there is art, history, literacy, etc. in STEM. The more that we can weave into an activity, the more doors we can open for our students and their futures. We need to start early though, for if students are not interested in STEM by fifth grade then 92% of boys and 97% of girls will loose interest in STEM subjects.

Now let's step off the STEM data soapbox and see what after school sites in Region 3 have been up to in the last month.



Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: Sacramento Chinese Community
Service Center

Name of District: Twin Rivers Unified School District

Name of School Site: Woodridge Elementary School

Grade Level of Activity: 4th Grade

Number of Students who took part in the activity: 20

Type of Activity: STEAM Circle of Pong

Learning Outcomes: Students were able to: 

• engineer a device with limited resources
• work collaboratively and communicate effectively to engineer a device
• use critical thinking skills when resources were either added or taken away
• test their engineered device and make revisions based upon observations
• able to successfully transport a ping pong ball with an engineered device

Expanded Learning students engineering ping pong transport devices.

For more information on this activity please contact Gladys Gonzalez at gladys@sccsc.org.


Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: Sacramento Chinese Community
Service Center

Name of District: Sacramento City Unified School District

Name of School Site: John Bidwell Elementary School 

Grade Level of Activity: 3rd Grade

Number of Students who took part in the activity: 20

Type of Activity: Chemistry Lesson (Kitchen Chemistry)

Learning Outcomes: Students were able to:

• become more familiar with scientific terms and the scientific method
• investigate changing states of matter
• understand chemical reactions
• learn about the properties of salt and ice
• observe and improve their product using the engineering design process

Expanded Learning Program students learning about the properties of salt and ice.

For more information on this activity please contact Guadalupe Rios at guadalupe@sccsc.org.


Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: Sacramento Chinese Community
Service Center

Name of District: Sacramento City Unified School District

Name of School Site: Caroline Wenzel Elementary School 

Grade Level of Activity: 1st and 2nd Grade

Number of Students who took part in the activity: 23

Type of Activity: STEM Balancing Robot

Learning Outcomes: Students were able to:

• explore the concept of the center of gravity
• to use the Engineering Design Process
• engineer a balancing robot
• explain why the robot's pennies needed to be balanced on each side

Expanded Learning students engineering their balancing robots.

For more information on this activity please contact Stephanie Vega at stephanie@sccsc.org.






STEM / Expanded Learning and Other Pertinent Education Articles:

1) 5 Reasons Your After School Practitioner is Your Biggest Ally
    (Edutopia article by Dr. Nicole Edwards, December 15, 2016)

2) 30 Techniques to Quiet a Noisy Class
    (Edutopia post by Todd Finely, October 21, 2014)

3) High School Library Coloring Center De-Stresses Students
    (School Library Journal article by Joy Millam, December 14, 2016)

4) "Makerspaces" for science instruction also proving helpful for English learners
     (EdSource article by Pat Maio, November 30, 2016)

5) The White House Hosted an Interactive Girls Make Games Workshop
    (Amy Poehler's Smart Girls article by Trilby Beresford, December 19, 2016)

6) A shocking number of young people can't separate fact from fiction online
    (The Hechinger Report article by Nichole Dobo, November 30, 2016)

7) Laughter, Learning, and Why Teens Are Such a Tough Crowd
    (Edutopia article by Dr. Matt Bellace, October 21, 2016)

8) Kids with disabilities benefit from physical education focused on motor skills
    (Michigan Radio article by Leah Ketcheson, November 14, 2016)

9) Opportunities and challenges in after school computer science
    (Afterschool Alliance article by Melissa Ballard, December 7, 2016)

10) Ways Educators Can Respond to Student Trauma
      (Education Week article by Larry Ferlazzo, December 17, 2016)


STEM (and other interdisciplinary core content) Activities / Videos / Websites

1) Science Explorer Activities (Grades 4-8) (Exploratorium)

2) STEM Gems Activities (Grades 4-8) (National After School Association)

3) STEM Fact Sheets (Resources for Educators)

4) Design Squad Build Activities (Grades 1-6) (PBS)

5) Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences
    (Oregon State) (Grades 4-12)

6) How to Smile STEM Resources (How To Smile)  

7) Understanding the Standing Rock Standoff (with Lesson Plan)
    (KQED article by Matthew Green, December 13, 2016)

8) Seven Creative Alternatives to Showing Movies Before the Break
   (John Spencer Blog) 

9) The Honest Truth about Fake News and How Not to be a Sucker 
    (with Lesson Plan) (KQED activity by Matthew Green, December 6, 2016)

10) Prevent Bullying Webinar (After School Alliance Webinar)


STEM / Educational Grants: 

1) The Big List of Educational Grants (Updated on December 13, 2016)

2) California After School Network Funding Opportunities Page

3) After School Funding Database

4) The Impact Foundry

5) Bank of the West

6) Application for Free Computers

7) Lowe's Toolbox for Education


STEM / Misc. Professional Learning Sessions / Contest / Events: 

1) Region 3 Winter Conference for Elementary Expanded Learning Program 
    Practitioners (Free) (January 24, 2017)

2) Region 3 Winter Conference for Middle / High School Expanded Learning Program
    Practitioners (Free) (February 21, 2017)

3) 2017 Expanded Learning Symposium (February 23, 2017 in Berkeley)
    (Registration: $89 per participant)

4) CASRC Online Professional Learning Sessions (Free) 
     (Various Topics / Grade Levels)

5) CalSAC Online Professional Learning Sessions (Free)
    (Various Topics / Grade Levels)

Thanks again for all that you do in the field. Please keep us posted about STEM events/activities in your area. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Monica Gonzalez-Williams (SCOE: Region 3: After School Regional Lead):
mgonzalez@scoe.net

Phil Romig (SCOE: Science Curriculum Specialist): promig@scoe.net

Mark Drewes (SCOE: Project Specialist II: Expanded Learning) mdrewes@scoe.net