New Address: American Association of University Women BATON ROUGE BRANCH AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN April 2015 OFFICERS President Joan H. Bonds 225-752-1326 jshbonds917 @gmail.com VP , Membership JiJi Jonas 225-275-3073 [email protected] Secretary June Klimash 225-488-5171 [email protected] Treasurer Julie Sukkar 225-769-0201 [email protected] Vice-President, Program Jan Koellen 225-769-3642 [email protected] COMMITTEES Nominating Chair Betty L Roundtree 225-338-0321 [email protected] Publicity Chairman Evelyn Robinson 225-775-7922 Polly Williams 225-231-2895 Newsletter Publisher Faye Ferdinand 225-354-9868 [email protected] Hello Everyone, Spring is here! SPECIAL REQUEST: The board has decided we should pursue 501C3 Status with IRS if possible. We have been searching for any legal type historical information. If you know of anything that might help, please let me know. (i.e. Articles of Incorporation would help). [email protected]. Women’s Week is scheduled for September 25 through October 3. We still need a few people to help with our events. If you can participate with one or more events, please let Jan Koellen know at [email protected] you!! Equal Pay Day 2015 is Tuesday, April 14. In a calendar twist that even we couldn't have planned, Equal Pay Day also falls on fair pay icon Lilly Ledbetter's birthday this year (stay tuned for opportunities to wish our dear AAUW friend a happy birthday this April!) concerning the Wage Gap between women and men. This is the date that a woman finally makes (including 2014 + 15 to date) as much as a man in the same job. Just a friendly reminder that there is still time to register for the 2015 AAUW National Convention in beautiful San Diego, CA - June 19-21, 2015! As you may recall, the 2013 National Convention was held right here in our state, in New Orleans! Here is the convention link to check it out and register in advance now! http:// convention.aauw.org. Please let me know if you are planning to attend. [email protected]. The 2015 Annual Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, May 9th. Please put on your calendar. The next board meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 20, 7:00 pm at the Bluebonnet Library. All members are welcome to attend. If you are new to AAUW or just interested in becoming more involved, don’t forget to check the rest of the newsletter for the various activities and signup for those that interest you. Just email or call the contact person. Keep safe. Joan Houghton-Bonds President The AAUW State Board of Directors Meeting will be Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 10:00am— 2:00pm at the Goodwood Library. DAY 2015 on April 14 APRIL 2015 BATON ROUGE BRANCH PAGE 2 AAUW News April 2015 The No Child Left Behind Act National News (Part 2) Reauthorizing No Child Left Behind AAUW believes it is possible—and necessary—to maintain a commitment to high standards and greater accountability in our nation’s public schools. However, that commitment cannot be in principle only—it must be accompanied by the federal commitment and financial assistance to make it a reality. As the 111th Congress contemplates reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, AAUW supports the following efforts to strengthen its goals and improve its implementation: Strengthening STEM Education: AAUW supports the promotion and strengthening of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, especially for girls and other underrepresented populations in the fields. By 2010, one in four new jobs will be "technically oriented" or involve computers. However, we have not prepared girls sufficiently for this growing field. Girls still do not perform as well as boys on National Association of Education Progress (NAEP) math and science assessments. In 2008, 55 percent of AP test-takers were girls, but in STEM-related areas, those numbers were smaller. Early indicators such as these have directly informed our current STEM workforce; as an example, women comprise only 26 percent of computer and mathematical professionals. In order to close this gap, AAUW supports efforts that train teachers to encourage girls and other underrepresented groups to pursue STEM careers. AAUW will work to ensure that programs passed in the last Congress in the America COMPETES Act and the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which seek to produce additional science and math teachers through expanded scholarships and training, are fully funded and implemented. AAUW also recommends a grant program to narrow the achievement gap and encourages these students to pursue STEM careers. Schools should be able to use these grants to cover a number of expenses including mentoring, after-school programs, summer programs and internships, field trips, etc. Requiring High School Sports Data Collection: AAUW supports requiring high schools to report basic data on the number of female and male students in their athletic programs, and the expenditures made for their sports teams. Access to such data will enhance compliance with Title IX and aid in the continued expansion of athletic opportunities for girls at the high school level. This is important because while girls comprise 49 percent of the high school population, they receive only 41 percent of all athletic participation opportunities, amounting to almost 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than male high school athletes. Supporting Effective Implementation of the Women’s Educational Equity Act: The Women’s Educational Equity Act was first enacted in 1974, designed to promote educational equity for women and girls through the provision of funds to help education agencies and institutions meet the requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. AAUW strongly supports the principles of WEEA and advocates the full funding of this law, as well as the appropriate application of its funds to meet the goals of the program. Title IX remains a vital tool in providing equal educational opportunities and WEEA, when used properly, can provide critical technical assistance to schools as they work to comply with Title IX not just in athletics but in all educational programs that receive federal funds. APRIL 2015 PAGE 3 BATON ROUGE BRANCH INTEREST GROUPS BOOK GROUP I — PM The Evening Book Group will meet at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, April 1 at the Bluebonnet Library. Sylvia Martinez will review “Everybody’s Got Something”, by Robin Roberts. If anyone would like to co-host refreshments, please let Susan know. Also send in your book suggestions for the next year which must be obtainable at the public libraries. Please call Susan Smolinsky (Book Group Chair) at 338-0321 or email [email protected] if you need additional information. CAMPUS STUDY DAY TRIPPERS Campus Study will meet at noon on Thursday, April 23. The program will be the presentation of the scholarship winners. All members are encouraged to attend and show your support for these deserving young women. Everyone will receive an email in early April with the location for the luncheon and other details. The Day Trippers went to New Orleans on March 18 to the Historic New Collection to see an exhibit on Andrew Jackson. AAUW members included Margaret Moore, Betty Lou Roundtree and Suzanne Vincent. The group also had a guided tour of the Williams Residence. The Historic New Orleans Collection was founded in 1966 by General L. Kemper Williams and Leila Williams. The group toured the Williams residence. The residence is located at 533 Royal Street. Also, the group went to the Williams Research Center at 410 Charters Street to see another exhibit, "Purchased Lives: New Orleans and the Domestic Slave Trade, 18081865". The exhibit examines the individuals in the trade and considers New Orleans' role. New Orleans was the largest slave market in antebellum America. For details on both exhibits and the tour of the Williams's home, AAUW members can go to hnoc.org. GREAT DECISIONS The Great Decisions Group will meet at 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 16 at the home of Maxine Rak, 18640 S Lake Shadow Dr. Lorraine Day will co-host. Julie Sukkar will lead the discussion on ‘Syria’s Refugee Crisis’. Please contact Vivian Guillory (Great Decisions Chair) by email at [email protected] if you need additional information. GOURMET GROUP BOOK GROUP II— AM The Morning Book Group will meet at 10:00 am on Monday, April 20 at Suzanne Vincent home, 1648 Longwood Drive. This will be the planning meeting for next year book discussions. Please call Suzanne Vincent (Book Group Chair) at 923-3028 or you can email her at [email protected] if you need additional information. The Gourmet Group will meet at 7:00 pm on Saturday, April 18 at the home of Lorraine and Donald Day, 2122 General Lee Avenue. The theme centers around dishes from those countries involved in the 1st World War as a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the start of the war last November. Please call Lorraine at 767-7239 by April 6 to receive your recipe or contact JiJi Jonas (Chair) at 379 -3204 or [email protected] for additional information. HTGT Thrift Shop 50/50 Donate to #518 to support our Scholarship Fund AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN 1246 VERDUN DRIVE BATON ROUGE LA 70810 That AAUW’s headquarters building which opened in 1960 at 2401 Virginia Avenue NW in Washington DC at a cost of $1 million, never held a mortgage? (Members bought bricks at $10 each.) We sold it in 1989 for $10 million and moved to our present 16th Street address for the same amount. No mortgage there either. For Snail Mailers “Reverence the highest, have patience with the lowest. Let this day’s performance of the meanest duty be thy religion. Are the stars too distance, pick up the peddle that lies at thy feet, and from it learn the all.” Margaret Fuller April 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Book Group PM 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Equal Pay Day 15 16 Great Decisions 17 18 Gourmet Group 20 21 Book Group AM Happy Birthday! Karen Groves BOD Mtg. @ BB 22 23 Campus Study 24 27 29 19 26 28 Happy Birthday! Lorraine Day 30 Happy Birthday! Theresa H. Ray 25 AAUW State Board Meeting