Let's Hear It for the Girls

One of the initiatives that was given to me eight years ago when I became the principal of Greene Central was to reignite our Ag and FFA membership. More specifically, we were recruiting girls. At the same time, our STEM program was very young and it also had a goal of 51% female membership in STEM courses. These initiatives were started because our leaders recognized that these fields are overwhelmingly dominated by males and if we are going to pave the way for things like gender and pay equity, we have to get girls interested in these programs early on. 

I can tell you that it's been a bumpy road to get the kind of female participation in FFA and Ag courses that we had been hoping for. It's hard for students to take the first step into something like that where they are an instant minority. They will tell you that they quickly recognize that "there's no one like me in that class." I've heard that response from so many students over the years and I'm still always shocked by how observant students are on things like this. 

But perhaps we have turned a corner. This week, our FFA team had their first competition and when you see the list of winners, it's hard not to recognize something different. Eight out of the twelve winners were girls, including an all-female parliamentary procedure team that took first place. The entire officer team is female as well. That's nothing short of impressive and exactly what we have always been hoping to achieve. So give credit where it's due. Our girls are doing a great job. And we can't diminish the great work that the boys have done as well. Their accomplishments are just as important. And that's the point of equity. I'm just proud to say that we have come to see a longtime goal achieved.