Girls are G.R.E.A.T In 1980, the San Diego-Imperial Girl Scout Council developed the Girls Are G.R.E.A.T. (Gifted, Resourceful, Extraordinary, Ambitious and Talented) program, an in-school and after-school outreach program designed to bring Girl Scouting to girls living in the communities of San Diego and Imperial counties. The program reaches girls who live in areas where Girl Scout troops have not been successfully developed because of lack of adult volunteer leadership, language/cultural barriers, and economic hardship. The Girls Are G.R.E.A.T. (GRG) program was designed to break through these barriers and further the Girl Scouts’ mission to make Girl Scouting available for all girls. The San Diego Super Computer Center (SDSC), under the leadership of one of its scientists, Dr. Rozeanne Steckler, head of the SDSC's Education Department has been conducting science enrichment outreach programs for girls and members of underrepresented groups since 1987. In 1997, in an effort to have greater impact by increasing the number of participants, Steckler initiated a partnership between SDSC and the San Diego Imperial Girl Scout Council’s Girls Are G.R.E.A.T. program. Through this partnership, a science component was incorporated into GRG and was delivered to minority girls in the inner city and border communities in grades 2-8 in the San Diego City Schools. Between 1980 and 2001, the program had grown from serving 200 girls in four elementary schools to over 5,600 girls in over 50 elementary and middle schools throughout San Diego and Imperial counties. In these two counties there are nine school districts: The San Diego Unified District, San Ysidro, Sweetwater Union High, Chula Vista, Escondido Union, National, South Bay Union, Oceanside Unified, and Vallecitos School District. Description of the program The GRG programs are delivered to elementary and middle school students either during regular school hours or after school hours. The two forms of program delivery are informally referred to as the “in-school” program and “after-school” program. The logistics of delivering the program are different for each modality. The after-school program is coordinated by three or four Program Leaders and taught to groups of as many as 70 girls at a time. For the in-school program, which is the focus of this evaluation report, teachers are given the option of having a Girl Scout program provided to the girls in their classroom during school hours. Teachers that request the program generally team up with an adjacent class so they can participate in the program together. The boys from both classrooms are combined and either receive alternative programming or have an extra recess on the days that the Girl Scout program is offered. Total GRG classroom size ranges from 20-35 student participants. The GRG program is conducted by two Girl Scout Program Leaders for a 45-minute period in each classroom twice a month. One of the classroom teachers is always present while the GRG program is taking place, although they often use this time to do preparatory work or grading. SDSC and the San Diego-Imperial Girl Scout Council share responsibilities for delivering the GRG program. SDSC develops the science enrichment curriculum, acquires and lends the materials, and trains the Girl Scout staff. Girl Scout staff members (many of whom are bilingual) are in charge of teaching the curriculum to the students during school or after school. A broad range of programming is offered in the areas of health, math skills, science, technology, violence prevention, conflict resolution, communication, career exploration, and building self-esteem. The science enrichment component of the GRG program, which was the main focus of the evaluation, contains over 35 modules in the areas of computer science, earth science, life science, and physical science. The science modules were developed to ensure agreement with state and district standards. The science modules emphasize hands-on inquiry and learning through exploration. Each curriculum module is organized with instructions for the Program Leader and with all materials necessary to carry out the activities that accompany the lesson.