2019 Grants

GIRLS ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (LOS ANGELES)

We're excited to announce a new partner this year: the Girls Academic Leadership Academy in Los Angeles. GALA, which opened in 2016, is the first (and only) all-girls STEM-focused public school in California. Located in central Los Angeles, it provides young women from diverse backgrounds with science, math, and technology classes at every grade level, as well as college counseling. GALA's mission is a great fit for the Foundation, and we're happy to have found them! This year we will support two programs at GALA.  

Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science Classes

GALA offers its Middle School students an Environmental Science elective and its seniors AP Environmental Science. AP Environmental Science requires gathering environmental samples from different biomes across the region, and performing labs with the collected samples. Special sensor equipment is needed to monitor air quality, water quality, soil quality, lab testing for LD (lethal dose) 50, and to build eco-columns. Without this equipment, GALA cannot offer these classes.

Foundation funds will be used to purchase five sets of sensors that measure pH, conductivity, salinity, temperature, turbidity, CO2, colorimeters, and dissolved oxygen. The total grant of $4,500 will benefit 55 students in Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science.

Graphing Calculators

GALA requires every student to have a graphing calculator as they enter high school. These calculators cost $125 each.

The Foundation's grant will be used to purchase 25 calculators and three charging stations, for a total of $3,348.50. More than 100 students will use these machines in class and at home.

THE GIRLS’ MIDDLE SCHOOL (PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA)

The Jennifer Kay Foundation has supported programs at The Girls’ Middle School since 2010. This year, we’re happy to continue our support for three valuable programs.

Robotics competitions and kits

In the fall of 2018, GMS launched a robotics extracurricular club called Byte Sized. This year they added another team called The Bits. The Foundation is supporting these teams by supplying the entrance fees to two robotics competitions, including an event at Google in February. We will also help by purchasing two very cool Vex Clawbot Kits. The clubs will compete against more than 40 clubs from schools across Silicon Valley. The kits can also be re-purposed by the instructor to teach a variety of lessons in mechanical advantage, programming, and iterative design. One of GMS's parent volunteers said, about these competitions: "In our first tournament this year, I was proud that even though some were hesitant, every girl took a risk and drove the robot in a match. Also, nearly every girl participated in both building and coding the robot. They are proud of themselves, and I see their confidence and excitement increasing."

The grant is for $1,170, which will cover the competition entrance fees and the two robotics kits.

Build-A-Circuit Kits

As we did in 2018, 2016 and 2015, this year we will support GMS’s use of Chibitronic circuit kits. The kits, which were designed by a woman affiliated with the MIT Media Lab, help instructors explain how electrical gates -- the basis of all computer chips -- work. The girls build several simple circuits for themselves, connecting batteries and LEDs in various ways with conductive copper tape (no soldering required). As GMS noted, “for many girls, this is their very first experience making an electronic circuit and these materials make abstract concepts accessible, understandable, and lead to successful completion.”

The kits are “consumable": the students take home their completed projects at the end of the unit and can use them as personalized reference guides. This year, we will fund 64 kits, for the entire 8th Grade class, for a total of $1,334.

Exploratorium Field Trip

We will again support a field trip for the entire GMS 8th Grade to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, a science museum that focuses on hands-on, interactive exhibits. GMS science teachers integrate the lessons learned at the Exploratorium into later classroom instruction, and when students are required to do a science project for the annual GMS science exhibition, the students are given the option of explaining one of the exhibits they saw at the Exploratorium. The trip has proven to be a successful way of making science more accessible and interesting to the students.

The grant is for $1,613, which will cover all 65 students in Grade 8.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP NETWORK (NEW YORK CITY)

STEMposium

 We have supported Student Leadership Network (and its predecessor organizations) with a variety of grants for the past ten years and we're happy to continue our support again this year. Hundreds of young women get a quality single-sex education at these schools across New York City.

In April 2020, between 100 and 125 students across grades 6-12 will attend SLN's fifth annual STEMposium, a day of workshops, speakers, and networking opportunities that focus on building excitement, confidence, and a sense of belonging in STEM education and careers. The event is hosted in partnership with Cornell University. This year, STEMposium will have two main components:

Non-Competitive Science Fair

Students will present their independent scientific research to an audience of both their peers and STEM professionals from Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell Tech, Cornell Center for Materials Research, Cornell Cooperative Extension – NYC, and other program partners.

Interactive Workshops

Students will participate in two interactive STEM workshops presented by Cornell staff. These workshops will focus on inspiring the students to pursue STEM-related education and careers. Last year’s presenters were:

> Weill Cornell Medicine: Medical School Orientation - "Stop The Bleed"

> Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences: Exploring Enzymes

> Cornell Centers for Materials Research: Demystifying Diffraction

> Cornell Tech: Keeping it Private Online: What Websites Know About You, and How

> Cornell University Cooperative Extension – NYC: If You Build It, They Will Come

The Foundation’s grant will pay for five teachers, for their out-of-school planning time with students. The grant will also pay for buses and student Metrocards for travel to and from the STEMposium, science fair presentation materials, and food for students during after-school preparation time. The grant is for $7,350 (approximately 75% of the total cost of the symposium) and will benefit between 100 and 125 young women.