The Connections Partnership is based on a two-year collaboration between Northeastern University (NU) and the Boston-area Patriots' Trail Girl Scout Council (PTGSC). PTGSC, who represents over 8,000 elementary, middle, and high school girls in the City of Boston, brings expertise in all-girl programs and gender sensitivity to Connections and NU with its signature cooperative education program brings expertise in career training and SEM education. Connections will attract and support girls and women who can excel in math and science and encourage them to make the transition into majors and careers in SEM-related fields. NU faculty, staff and students will team with girls in Boston-area Girl Scout troops, their troop leaders, and their teachers in after-school activities and summer day camp programs at Computer Club Houses at NU and at the PTGSC site in Boston. The major goal of the program is to empower high school ready girls, college ready high school graduates, and career ready college graduates and prepare them for a future in SEM-related fields. It takes the creative efforts of all stakeholders, including classroom teachers and their students, to shift a significant number of girls and women into careers that have not been traditional for them. Connections will target three populations: middle school girls (Group 1); high school girls (Group II); and undergraduate college women (Group III). The program combines best practices of (1) Women in Engineering (WIE) programs and girl-focused SEM programs; (2) hands-on SEM classroom experiences with work in real-world settings; and (3) a structured mentoring program that supports middle and high school girls and undergraduate women linked to women faculty, Girl Scout leaders, teachers, and working professionals in SEM fields. The target population will connect with one another through several paths: o Contact with one or more mentors: A structured mentoring program that groups more than 500 students over e-mail, involving troop leaders, professional women, parents, college majors, and NU faculty crossing over all three target populations. o Use of a structured e-mail communication and support network, tying together all elements of the program (curriculum, SEM-activities, mentoring, and coaching to learning). o Participation in regularly scheduled academic and summer activities that connect curriculum, career, and personal goals for participants and members of the Connections team. Each target population will participate in age-specific activities designed to help girls and women make the right connections for successful careers as 21st Century SEM professionals. These activities will reflect the three themes that will be integrated throughout the proposed Connections Partnership program: Curriculum, Career, and Personal Development (CCPD). Middle school girls will understand the importance of what they are learning to succeed in high school; high school girls will understand what SEM careers involve through their interactions with college women, faculty and professionals in the field; and college women will become career ready and have a clearer understanding of their future opportunities as SEM professionals. The program will have a direct impact on the lives of more than 450 girls each year, with almost 1,000 during the three-year funding period. In addition, more than 300 NU undergraduate women will participate in Connections with an impact on approximately 500 NU's students over the three years. We will seek additional funding to sustain the program beyond NSF funding as needed.
