Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming received a 2017-2018 FIRST® STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant to engage rural young women in STEM, connecting them with STEM enthusiasts and college scholarship opportunities through robotics competitions.
In Montana and Wyoming, severe school budget cuts have dramatically curtailed STEM education for all students, but young women especially. Today only about a third of eighth grade girls in these two states are proficient in math.
To help fill the gaps left by budget cuts and engage young women in math and science, the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming have made STEM education a top priority for our members, 30 percent of whom are underserved and underrepresented. FIRST teams are a big part of that effort.