About Wakefield

A journal is kept by the Coordinator of each IGNITE Chapter. This information will aid in capturing the procedure used to set up an event. Guidelines will be created and shared with others via the Arlington Public Schools – Wakefield IGNITE Chapter website.

Success of the IGNITE Chapter will be evaluated by tracking the enrollment of students who attend each event. Even one girl enrolling in a high tech course that was not on her scope prior to participating in an event is a success story.

Selecting IGNITE members has proven to be a difficult task. The IGNITE Coordinator (Wendy Maitland), the supervisor of CTE, and the supervisor of engineering are meeting to recommend students for the chapter. Chapter members will become career advocates, getting the word out to other girls about the opportunities that are available to them. One challenge for a new chapter is to get girls interested in becoming members by overcoming the stereotypes associated with joining a group that has not been appealing in the past.

Promoting technical education for girls will provide young women the opportunity to make a more informed career choice. Unfortunately, registration for 2008-09 classes was completed in January. However, students will continue to have the opportunity to change classes prior to the fall. Therefore, the Wakefield IGNITE Chapter will begin to provide opportunities for girls to learn about the experiences of women who are in nontraditional careers.

Part of the responsibility of the Chapter Coordinator is to form partnerships with women in high tech careers. Research supports the notion that girls and young women need to have mentors and role models. The primary focus of the Wakefield IGNITE chapter is to provide members’ access to women in nontraditional high tech careers.