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It's Women's History Month!

Make sure to check out our resources section where you can find a link to watch free videos and documentaries that highlight important contributions by women in history to celebrate this month's theme.

In this month's newsletter, you'll find a recap of our activities in February and what your students can look forward to in March. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. - Nell

Stellar Cohort with 343 Industries

MONTHLY RECAP

Lab Day: Luminous Cohort learned about Bioluminescence by designing a switch that a spy could use to turn on a light from two feet away. Stellar Cohort continued to learn about app development and started to explore Lucidchart. Epic Cohort dove deeper into their climate change projects, finalizing designs and experiment protocols.

Field Day: Luminous Cohort learned about Blue Origin, created a lunar lander prototype, and heard from some of the amazing aerospace employees there. Stellar Cohort heard from an inspiring panel of women at 343 Industries - the video game studio that brings us Halo. Epic Cohort learned about Facebook Reality Labs, listened to an incredible panel of engineers, and created their own optics pyramid.

Facebook Reality Labs panelist, Sahar Karimi, with Epic Cohort students and mentors above.

RESOURCES

What to Watch: Women's History Month: Free documentaries and videos spotlighting important contributions by women in history

TechConnect WA: The TechConnect Community Helpdesk provides the diverse and multilingual Seattle-area community with access to FREE technical support to better engage in a virtual environment. The Community Helpdesk will be able to provide the technical guidance and navigation support, while ensuring that other needs can be met via established channels.

Med-o-vate Hackathon: Register here to join a biotech centered hackathon, organized to target problems prevalent in our healthcare industry.

Fred Hutch High School Explorers Program: The Pathways Research Explorers Program, funded by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, supports rising 10th and 11th grade students (especially those from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in science) in a two-week introductory summer program at Fred Hutch. We run two sessions in August of approximately 16 students each. Students must have completed a high school biology course to participate. Apply by March 17, 2021.

LOOKING FORWARD

• Lab Day on March 27th. 10AM-12PM for Luminous & Stellar Cohorts. 1PM-3PM for Epic Cohort.

• Summer Retreat will be held the week of July 12-16. Timing is TBD depending on whether or not we are able to meet safely in person, but assume an all day retreat schedule for now.

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SPIN is looking for 3-4 new board members to plan our strategic direction for the next 3-5 years!

SKILLS AND COMMITMENT

SPIN is looking for board members who are focused on equity and education. 2021 brings renewed opportunity and we are looking for board members who are inspired to lead us as we explode into the future alongside our community.

We are looking for board members who:

• Help us understand community dreams and rise to meet them;

• Assist with budgeting and fundraising to fulfill those dreams; and

• Imagine what the future could look like with no barriers to STEM.

Board members are expected to meet every other month and:

• Be visionaries for our community’s future

• Understand and fulfill board Fiduciary responsibilities

• Champion SPIN’s work to external organizations

• Raise operating funds 

If you are interested in learning more, contact our Director, Katherine Barr, at 206.271.2872 or katb[at]stempaths[dot]org

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It's Black History Month!

Today marks the start of Black History Month. The theme for 2021 is Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity, which explores the African diaspora, and the spread of Black families across the United States. If you're interested in being inspired, check out this reading list that highlights 13 trailblazing Black women.

In this month's newsletter, you'll find a recap of our activities in January and what your students can look forward to in February. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. - Nell

MONTHLY RECAP

Field Day: All cohorts got to see inside a lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and heard from an amazing and inspiring panel of women who work there. From the panel, they learned about different educational and career paths available to them if they are interested in scientific research.

RESOURCES

Kick Off Black History Month With Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain and a Host of Other Events: Week-long free virtual programming at the National Museum of African American History & Culture to celebrate Black History Month.

Picture Books Representing Black voices - A list of picture books by (majority) Black authors exploring topics related to Black Lives Matter movement values. Support a local Black-owned bookstore, by purchasing from Estelita’s Library or L.E.M.S Bookstore.

Washington State Dept. of Health “Phase Finder” - online resource to find out when you can get the vaccine and sign up for notifications when you’re eligible for it in Washington State.

Seattle Dept. of Transportation “Winter Weather” Planning - tips for staying safe during snowy, rainy, and icy conditions. Translations available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali, Amharic, and more.

LOOKING FORWARD

• Field Day on February 27th from 10AM-12PM.

• Summer Retreat will be held the week of July 12-16. Timing is TBD depending on whether or not we are able to meet safely in person, but assume an all day retreat schedule for now.

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Starting in February 2021, we’ll be posting our monthly SPIN Girls newsletter to our blog for everyone to catch up on the fun things we’re doing! For now, if you’d like to explore our past newsletters, here’s our current archive:

2019

December

2020

January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December

2021

January

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Thank you, School’s Out Washington (SOWA) for featuring our Northgate program on your blog! We love working with Seattle Parks & Rec to support Northgate students through this difficult time.

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“Rebecca remembers the early days of the COVID crisis and trying to plan next steps amidst so much uncertainty.   She says that SPIN Deputy Director Kat Barr, ‘really stepped in while I was just starting to put some pieces together and asked ‘so what are we gonna do for our kids?’’  

While SPR was fleshing out their new virtual programming, SPIN started providing 3-D printing classes virtually—and wound up delivering almost double the amount of sessions that were originally designed.  ‘The Best Starts for Kids grant is what guaranteed that we could run direct service. We have a unique opportunity here.’  Other possibilities opened up too because of the partnership at Northgate. Weeks before Seattle Public Schools was able to secure laptop donations from Amazon, SPIN was loaning their program equipment to families. ‘These devices help the kids get access to SPIN and to their education, but it also means parents have access to laptops in their homes, too, for things like filling out unemployment applications.’”

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For the full article, visit SOWA’s blog here.

RSVP to join us for this fun event via Zoom at 6pm, October 22nd.

Order some Tenacity of your very own! Proceeds benefit SPIN and SPIN Girls.

There are many ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Here are a few we want to highlight. We focused on the Seattle-King County area as that is the area we serve. This is by no means a complete list, and we encourage you to continue to look for ways to support the movement. For a master list of national resources, click here (including mental health resources!!) and for a comprehensive Resource Document for This Moment, click here.

DONATE

For direct donations, check out these organizations:

Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County

Northwest Community Bail Fund

Not This Time!

If you don’t have money, you can still donate by watching monetized YouTube videos. Make sure you turn off ad blockers and don’t skip the ads. Watch here.

PROTEST

Attend a protest and let your voice be heard! Be mindful that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, so be sure to take the necessary precautions to stay safe.

Protest Safety Guide

Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County’s Statewide Silent March and General Strike on Friday, June 12

Attend a vigil for George Floyd every Monday evening in Rainier Valley

King County Equity Now

Where to livestream the Seattle protests

SIGN A PETITION

There are numerous petitions out there. The #blacklivesmatter Google Doc compiles a long list of them and lots of other useful information.

REGISTER TO VOTE

With the 2020 presidential election coming up in the midst of a global pandemic, voting may be impacted. Make sure your voice is heard by registering to vote!

Washington State Voter Registration

EDUCATE YOURSELF AND THOSE AROUND YOU

“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.” - Angela Davis

Put in the work to be an anti-racist and a better ally to the movement. Share what you learn with those around you (friends, family, co-workers) and if you have kids, consider the lessons you’re teaching them implicitly and explicitly.

Please don’t ask Black folks to educate you unless they offer. (If that’s not enough for you, here’s one reason why.) Turn to these resources instead:

From a Model Minority - An Introduction to BLM (written by one of our SPIN Girls mentors)

Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County’s statement on recent protests and the actions of Seattle's mayor.

Anti-Racism Resources for White People

How to Talk About Race, Justice, and Equality with Your Children

Queen Anne Book Company’s Adult Reading List for Justice and Change

SUPPORT BLACK-LED & BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES

If you’re already ordering takeout or buying some new things, check out these Black-led and Black-owned businesses, restaurants, and organizations.

Black-Owned Restaurants in Seattle

Black-Owned Businesses & Restaurants in Seattle You Can Support Right Now

Support These Local Black-Owned Businesses & Non-Profits and Help Make Change

Stay safe, take care of yourselves and each other, and continue to fight for what’s right. We’ll continue to update this post as needed. #BlackLivesMatter

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have shifted our programming to keep our students, mentors, and staff safe and to support our students and their families as best we can. Here’s some of the work we’ve done:

Events

We have moved our monthly events to a virtual setting. Once a month, we have a Field Day or a Lab Day. Normally, we would visit a site or meet in person to create projects, but due to social distancing requirements, we can no longer do that. In order to adjust, our Program Manager (PM) planned an entirely new virtual Field Day for April 18th. She reached out to families to ask students what they wanted to learn about, and they voted for a pandemic curriculum. One parent expressed that she would only feel comfortable with a pandemic curriculum if it was uplifting and positive rather than more anxiety-inducing content. As a result, our PM wrote a Field Day agenda that included the following:

•  A virtual escape room to break the ice after two months apart;

• Check-in questions for mentors and mentees to ask each other to see how everyone is doing mentally, emotionally, academically, and physically;

• A chance to find uplifting and heartwarming stories that have come out of the coronavirus situation to remind everyone of positive sides to the situation;

• A non-fear mongering lesson on pandemics;

• An infectious disease simulation for students to take on roles in identifying an infectious disease outbreak;

• Numerous opportunities to take a screen break and to participate in a mindfulness activity;

• And a look at the positive things that have come out of this pandemic (impact on pollution, communities coming together, etc.) to end the lesson on a positive note.

In addition to this virtual Field Day, we created project kits to send to the students so that they can still complete their Capstone Project. When our PM checked in with our families, she asked if they would want a physical project to work on to offer a break from online learning. The answer was a resounding yes. This kit included the supplies needed for the project but also had a personalized note and a treat to have during our virtual Lab Day on May 16th to mimic the snacks and food we would provide them at an in person Lab Day. Our Capstone Presentation on June 20th will also be held virtually and students will receive special kits from us for that event as well. As we do not know how long social distancing measures will be in place, we are planning multiple versions of our July Retreat - online, socially distanced, and in-person.

Family Support

To support our families in this switch to online learning, we offered to loan them technology supplies. We provided a family with a laptop, mouse, and a wifi hotspot so that they could participate in online learning. Our PM also sends out resources to our families to help them navigate online learning and to help them get the supplies they need to get through the pandemic. 

Additionally, we have broadened the permissible use of SPIN Girls Scholarship funds to include basic needs such as groceries, rent, and utilities in order to support families struggling to make ends meet as a result of the outbreak. 

Program & Curriculum Improvement:

During this shift, we have continued our work with Crux Consulting to create surveys we can use to gauge program efficacy and make program adjustments. Though this situation makes testing and administering our surveys more difficult, we still plan on continuing with our regular timeline to pilot the surveys with our Epic Cohort this spring (virtually), making adjustments based on their feedback to be able to start administering the surveys in full at the beginning of our next program year. 

Whether our July Retreat happens in person or virtually, we still plan on asking the girls to provide input on this year’s program and curriculum to improve and to plan next year’s program. If we do not get to see the girls in person, we may get fewer responses, which could impact our ability to make the most effective curriculum changes. 

Remaining Uncertainties

We do not yet know how this situation will impact our mentor and student recruitment for next year. As of right now, this disruption hinders our plans to host a recruitment event at the beginning of June, but we are trying to make an online version that we can still advertise through PeachJar and other online sources. However, it is hard to say exactly what we are offering because we do not know if a second wave of the virus will hit in the fall, leading us to social distancing once again. Our PM will do her best to account for this possibility in advertising the program, but we cannot predict how this will impact volunteers’ desire to mentor or students’ desire to participate. 

The world has changed inexorably in the first quarter of 2020. In this uncertain time, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone working in education to reinvent education itself. At schools, this looks like teachers and administrators figuring out how to provide extended education for all of their students. Within human services, this looks like trying to get rental assistance, food, and unemployment benefits to families in their time of great need. For out of school time providers like SPIN, this looks like delivering online classes, lending out technology to families in need, and reinventing the future of our programs to support the current and future needs of the families we serve.

We have thousands of brilliant children experiencing summer slide before the school year is even over - not through any fault of their teachers or their families, but due to the systemic inequities that have resulted in income and racial disparities, laid even more bare by this crisis. SPIN is working around the clock to retool our programs to respond to community needs, while at the same time anticipating how we can support our families and educators when we are able to reconvene. We are anticipating a huge need for our STEM+Arts programs in the summer, and are working on ways to expand the academic portions of our classes to support areas where educators anticipate needing support.

If you are able, please consider supporting our work with a critical financial donation at this time.

If you are a caregiver, here are some resources we've found. We will continue to update this page as the situation progresses.

If you are an out of school time provider, a teacher or a school administrator, please contact us and let us know what you are doing to support families and learning and let's work together in this defining moment.

In health,
The SPIN Team

Check out this video highlighting the amazing work of our girls, mentors and staff over the first year of SPIN Girls. If you know a young lady interested in STEM or want to be the mentor you with you had, register for our 2019 cohort!

Happy Holidays, everyone! We here at SPIN are taking some well deserved time off until January 2nd. But we did want to share a big shout out and thank you to Echodyne, a STEAM powered company in Kirkland that adopted SPIN Girls for their holiday giving tree. Together, the team at Echodyne raised more than $300 for SPIN Girls - a contribution that will ensure that the girls will be able to use the highest quality materials over the course of their program. THANK YOU Echodyne!

SPIN paved many new STEM Paths over the summer - working with families across our region to strengthen minds and strengthen bodies. Before the holidays set in, we wanted to reflect on the work we did over the summer and the families we served.

SMARTi Summer Math Boost students and their fearless leader, Shana

John Muir Elementary School: At John Muir, SPIN partnered with Seattle Public Schools’ Summer Staircase. In the morning, 120 students from across SE Seattle worked on improving their math and reading skills. In the afternoon, SPIN came in and provided 6 fun classes that each student got to cycle through - Robotics, Video Game Design, and 3D Printing on the STEM side, and 3 movement classes that kept bodies moving. We got great feedback from the school about how well run this program was - and it was our very first time offering classes at this scale! Thanks JMES team.

Dunlap Summer Math Boost: At Dunlap, we worked with school staff to develop a four week, 6 hour/day summer math boost, including working on math skills, doing experiential math movement activities, and learning through project-based STEM classes. Over 90% of our students improved their math skills over the course of our program.

Washington Middle and Mercer Middle Schools: At Washington and Mercer, we taught girl-focused video game design classes, in preparation for the launch of SPIN Girls in the Fall of 2018.