Girls Empowered by Mentoring (GEM)
An AAUW Mentoring Program for Young Women of the
Carrollton Farmers Branch Independent School District (CFBISD)
Early College High School (ECHS)
Mission
Girls Empowered by Mentoring (GEM) is designed to bring together experienced women with
young women in CFBISD Early College High School. These relationships are intended to empower the students to reach their full potential, navigate effective ways to continue their education and to build self-confidence. The young women will be referred to as “scholars”.
AAUW’s Diversity Statement
AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or class.
Definitions
Mentor: An adult woman who is a member of AAUW, a resident or a member of a business, educational or community organization in the Metroplex.
The expectations of a GEM mentor include:
- Commitment to guidelines and boundaries of the GEM mentoring relationship
- Participation in components of the program, e.g. orientation, joint sessions, and concluding program function
Before being assigned a scholar, an interested person must complete
- a volunteer application form: Click Here
- an interview with a GEM Advisory Committee member
- a CFBISD background check https://cfb.tx01.teams360.net/volunteer/EntryPointHomeAction.do
Scholar: A young woman enrolled at the Early College High School (ECHS) located at Brookhaven College.
A GEM scholar must meet the following criteria:
- Recommendation from the CFBISD ECHS principal, school counselor, or faculty member
- Completion of the sophomore year of high school
Procedural Policies
Scheduling Mentoring Time
- ECHS will dedicate to G.E.M. a specific time period on the same day two times a month to be used for group programs or for mentor/scholar sessions.
- During the 2017-2018 academic year, this dedicated time is 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
- If the dedicated time is unavailable to either the mentor or scholar, together they may choose a mutually acceptable alternative time.
- The mentor and scholar will meet twice a month unless there are extenuating circumstances. Mentor/scholar pairs will use Google Docs to communicate scheduling plans with Counselor Niki Fisher.
- All meetings with the GEM scholar will be on campus at Brookhaven College only. Any exception to this meeting place must be granted by the school counselor after all school guidelines for field trips are met.
Commitment to the GEM Scholars Program
The length of commitment by both mentor and scholar is one academic year in duration. At the end of each year, mentors and scholars will have the option to continue and to maintain the same pairing or to change their pairing or, if they prefer, to withdraw from the program.
Move to earlier statement: “Before being assigned….”
The G.E.M. Program application is available here: