As part of Million Girls Moonshot, the Indiana Afterschool Network is excited to announce Engineering Mindset Booster Grants to Support Equity! The purpose of these Booster grants is to provide training and support to implement three engineering activities developed by the STEM Next Opportunity Fund that encourage engagement and participation of girls and other underrepresented youth ages 9-12.

The activities are designed for use in virtual or in-person afterschool programs and are great for the school year or a spring break camp! The grant amount is $1,500 and provides $1,000 for staff/administrative time and $500 for activity materials. Six grantees will be awarded. You can preview the training webinars and activities here:

This webinar is the first in a three-part series of webinars presented by the National Girls Collaborative. Exposure to diverse STEM role models can broaden girls’ perceptions of STEM careers and dispel stereotypes about who does STEM. Presenters will provide an overview of STEM role models, benefits of incorporating role models into STEM programs for girls, and resources and strategies for identifying and engaging role models. In preparation for the webinar, participants are encouraged to think about how they currently use (or do not use) role models in their network or program, and identify challenges to incorporating STEM role models.

In this webinar, participants will explore three strategies for connecting to and preparing role models to work with youth. Strategies will consist of making a connection, talking about your work in age-appropriate ways, and using culturally relevant and youth development practices.

As an implementation partner for the Million Girls Moonshot Initiative, PEAR is thrilled to offer a three-part training series to all state networks and participating programs at no cost!

We invite network leads, program staff, and coordinators to leverage the free Dimensions of Success (DoS) Program Planning Tool (PPT) during these guided, interactive sessions focused on creating authentic plans to support quality programming and maximize positive outcomes for youth and educators.

Map the implementation of quality STEM programming practices and positive youth development by reflecting on current activities/programs. Examine how STEM and social emotional development (SED) are interconnected and how the DoS tools/framework can support programs in elevating both. Deadline to Register: February 19th.

Reflect on areas of SED and STEM that are traditionally strong or challenging for programs nationally and for your program/network specifically. Create a vision and generate goals for strengthening STEM and SED in programming using the DoS framework and tools as a guide. Deadline to Register: March 8th.

Learn how to use the freely available DoS planning tool and related data collection tools to grow and strengthen programming. Discuss how to sustainably leverage data and planning resources to continue strengthening STEM and SED in your program. Deadline to Register: Friday March 26th.