214@100: All-girl engineering course debuts

Posted June 21, 2015 11:00 pm

Submitted by District 214

Elk Grove High School administrators noticed a troubling trend: freshmen girls with high math scores weren't enrolling in the introductory engineering course like their male peers.

So last year they created an all-girls engineering course to inspire and instill confidence in young women wanting to pursue STEM, short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

As part of the curriculum, students in the course go on specialized tours of STEM industries and meet or Skype with female professionals working in these fields.

In one year, the course has made major strides - all returning students have enrolled in another engineering course. And next year, the class will boast 25 girls, an increase from the 15 who took the course in the first year.

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