Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1060790
Leadership Academy : Michelle King School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is the only non- charter, all-girls public school in California and the first ever in Los Angeles Unified School District, which alone would be enough to merit attention. But it's what founder and Principal Liz Hicks and 22 dedicated edu- cators are doing to provide opportunities to nearly 500 girls in grades six to 11 that makes GALA so special. With a mission of reducing the gender equity gap in high-tech fields like programming and engineering, GALA focuses on rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). "A l o t o f stu d e n t s a r r iv e a n d a re i n t o s c i e n c e , engineering and math but haven't felt like they had a chance to shine before," said McFadden, who also serves as the site representative for United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA). GALA opened its doors to girls from throughout the district in 2016, following years of efforts by Hicks to garner support for her idea. When her daughter earned a scholarship to attend a prestigious prep school, it set the former longtime Hamilton High School teacher on a mission to provide the same outstanding experience to exceptional young women regardless of their economic circumstances — an all-girls public school. "I thought, 'Why can't we do this in public schools?'" Hicks said. "Let's make sure we do this for our girls in Los Angeles." That vision and tireless dedication by Hicks has become a supportive community of nearly 500 students, the oldest of which will be GALA's inaugural graduating class in 2020. e student body is as diverse as Los Ange- les itself, ethnically, economically and socially : GALA students come from 154 elementary schools in 81 ZIP Codes and speak 22 languages at home. About a third are Latina, 28 percent white, almost a quarter African-Amer- ican, and 11 percent Asian. "There's no such thing as a majority here at GALA," said Monica Henderson, president of the school's parents' organization, Friends of GALA. "at kind of culture is uncommon on California campuses." An opportunity to be smart girls A line on a computer screen bounces along a graph as 11th-graders Manon Abbou and Denielle Parks slowly drag a small block of wood along a piece of sandpaper. Using a wireless device, the girls are mea- suring friction in Emilie Hill's AP Physics class. At GALA, every single 11th-grade student is taking AP Physics. For Abbou, the rigorous science emphasis there is new and challenging. "It's difficult, but we're getting there," she said with a smile and half- hearted chuckle. According to Hill, data shows that the achievement gaps in STEM subjects begin to widen in middle school, but that gap closes in a sin- gle-gender educational environment. Coupled with her own experiences as an adolescent girl interested in science, Hill knows how important this focus can be in nurturing the future women scientists and engi- neers of the world. "When I was in high school, my counselor discouraged me from tak- ing physics and calculus by saying that only the nerdy boys take those classes — and I graduated in the 90's, not the 60's!" said Hill, a member of UTLA. "Girls are terribly underrepresented in what are considered 'hard' sciences — physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics — and typically choose life-science related majors, if they stay in STEM at all." Decades of unequal opportunity and support in STEM fields have led to widespread gender inequity in technological fields, such as pro- gramming and engineering. According to the federal Department of Commerce, less than a quarter of STEM-related jobs are held by women. e disparity is even worse for women of color, who represent only 3 and 4 percent of computer science and engineering workforces, respectively. is inequity has created well-documented hostile "We're thinking about who these girls are going to be after high school and beyond. Who are the leaders we are building here?" — K E L S E Y M C FA D D E N , U T L A Science teacher Kelsey McFadden and her fellow GALA educators give their girls a safe space to learn and grow. 35 D E C E M B E R 2 018 / J A N U A R Y 2 019