GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHEAST TEXAS

As the premier girls' development organization, Girl Scouts knows that developing girl leaders is vital because when women have the opportunity to exercise leadership, communities are more prosperous, families are stronger, and individuals are treated more fairly. An investment in the lives of girls is a proactive measure that gives girls their best chance at developing the healthy self-esteem, courage, confidence, and character that will allow them to make wise life decisions.

Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE), an evidence based program that helps girls cultivate important skills they need to take the lead in their own lives and the world. Through the GSLE, girls learn and grow in a safe, all-girl environment, discovering who they are, connecting with others, and taking action to make the world a better place. GSLE features a variety of fun, challenging, and experiential activities that empower girls as they develop five attitudes, skills, and behaviors essential to effective leadership:
1. Strong Sense of Self - They have confidence in themselves and their abilities, and are happy with who they are as a person.
2. Positive Values - They act ethically, honestly, and responsibly, and show concern for others.
3. Challenge Seeking - They take appropriate risks, try things even if they might fail, and learn from mistakes.
4. Healthy Relationships - They develop and maintain healthy relationships by communicating their feelings directly and resolving conflicts constructively.
5. Community Problem Solving - They desire to contribute to the world in purposeful and meaningful ways, learn how to identify problems in the community, and create “action plans" to solve them.
In December 2016, the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) surveyed a nationally representative sample of girls to assess the role of Girl Scouts in helping girls attain the five GSLE outcomes above, as well as other specific ways girls benefit from participating in Girl Scouts. The research provides compelling evidence that Girl Scouts stand out significantly from non–Girl Scouts, demonstrating more well-rounded lifestyles and a stronger propensity for success. Compared to non– Girl Scouts, Girl Scouts are more likely to:
• Exhibit strong leadership outcomes (80% vs. 68%)
• Earn “excellent" grades (53% vs. 45%)
• Expect to graduate college (70% vs 60%)
• Aspire to STEM, business, and law careers (41% vs 22%)
• Feel hopeful about their future (73% vs 64%)

The findings also show that Girl Scouts provides the differentiating factors that benefit girls. Girl Scouts are more likely than non–Girl Scouts to:
• Participate in a variety of fun and challenging activities, like those involving the outdoors, STEM, and civic engagement
• Engage in activities that are girl-led, cooperative, and hands-on
• Have adults in their lives who help them think about their future and pursue their goals

The strategic plan for Girl Scouts of Northeast membership includes these internal priorities/activities:

Reach and Retain more Girls - this will be done through the following strategies
Strengthen Troops
Develop Sustainable Alternative Program Models
Maximize the STEM Center of Excellence
Launch Outdoor/Mental Health Initiative

Transform the Volunteer Experience
Communicate Relevance
Increase Public Support
Effective Operations
Equity

We're the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and we serve almost 20,000 girls with 8,300 adult volunteers. Girl Scouts is the only organization that prepares every girl to practice a lifetime of leadership, by providing access to countless girl-led experiences, skill-building opportunities, and connections, because girls built of courage, confidence, and character make the world a better place.

Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts in 1912 with 18 girls in Georgia. She led efforts to make Girl Scouting available to girls in rural and urban areas and of all socio-economic, ethnic and racial backgrounds.

Separately incorporated as a 501(c)(3), Girls Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX) is one of 112 councils chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA. GSNETX is the catalyst of Girl Scouting in Texas, tracing our roots to 1917, just five years after the movement began. In 1956, area councils began to consolidate and after a historic national realignment in 2007, GSNETX was formed, encompassing 32 North Texas counties. Now in the 2nd century of the Girl Scout movement, we serve more than 26,000 girls, with 12,000 adult members/volunteers, 98 staff members, five camps, and eight service centers.

Currently, GSNETX has transformed a pre-WWII era camp into the STEM Center of Excellence. Located just 20 miles from downtown Dallas, it will become a living laboratory where girls can explore STEM programs, activities, and careers in a safe, girl-centric environment. The camp will be used for field trips, workshops, day and residential camps and provides a unique opportunity as an urban space to both serve underserved girls in the area, as well as to engage professionals and mentors from corporations, universities and other STEM-related non-profits in the region. The ultimate goal of the STEM Center of Excellence is to develop the workforce pipeline for future female STEM leaders and attract more young women to careers in STEM.

GSNETX is led by CEO Jennifer Bartkowski, who reports to the Board of Directors. Program management and financial oversight are the direct responsibility of COO, Kim Robinson and CFO, Debbie Roling and their respective staffs. STEM programming is supported through a STEM Advisory committee, compri

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas employes 121 employees and operates 5 camps and 8 service centers.

Location
Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas cover 32 counties (23,000 square miles) – beginning just North of Waco extending to the Oklahoma state line, and from Irving to the Louisiana border.

Counties Served:
Anderson, Camp, Cherokee, Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Franklin, Freestone, Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Navarro, Panola, Rains, Red River, Rockwall, Rusk, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood.

The STEM Center of Excellence officially opened in May 2018. For an interactive view of the STEM Center of Excellence visit here: http://stemcenter.gsnetx.org/

ABOUT THE STEM CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
The STEM Center of Excellence is a sprawling 92-acre living laboratory located in south Dallas that provides year-round opportunities in robotics, computer coding, botany, chemistry and more.

THROUGH THE STEM CENTER OF EXCELLENCE...
Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas are changing the workforce pipeline in STEM to meet the urgent need for female voices, engagement and leadership in the fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy.