Daily Archives: January 2, 2017

What’s a “Title IX Coordinator” and Why Should I Care? by Karen Humphrey

title_9You would think that 44 years after the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, equal education for all students regardless of sex would be a given in virtually all schools and colleges–the purpose of this landmark law.

Unfortunately, that is not the case.  Part of the reason sex discrimination still exists in education is that school systems across the country fail to make the most of their best tool for enforcing the law—the Title IX Coordinator required in districts, schools and colleges.  These people are critical to ensuring gender equity in education.

There is still a considerable lack of knowledge about Title IX. Many teachers, students and parents don’t understand what it requires, and some have never heard of it.  Some people think Title IX is just about athletics, but it actually applies to every aspect of education.  Long after its passage, new issues constantly emerge–campus sexual assault, transgender student rights, single-sex education and more.

As Title IX’s greatest champion, AAUW understands the law requires the effective leadership of Title IX Coordinators, but many people who carry that title must juggle Title IX with many other responsibilities, and get little training and support.  Often, their primary task is to handle complaints, not prevent discrimination in the first place.  With proper support, Coordinators can be leaders in really ensuring gender equity in education.

To help support Title IX Coordinators, AAUW launched the Title IX delivery project nationwide.  The project enables members to seek out Title IX Coordinators in their local schools and share with them helpful new materials from the U.S. Department of Education.   Increasing the knowledge of Title IX Coordinators helps increase their effectiveness and can build community support for equal opportunity in education.  If you’re interested, the project is described here.

This article is based on AAUW web resources, personal experience, and a new research report on Title IX Coordinators by the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Speech Trek 2017: Is it Time to Pass the ERA? by Liz Jordan

Speech Trek White edgeMark your calendars!  Signup on Eventbrite!  Speech Trek’s 10th Annual Branch Speech Contest is coming Saturday, February 18, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to Noon at the Southgate Library Community Room, 6132 66th Avenue.   

Students in grades 9-12 from Elk Grove Unified School District have been invited to speak on the topic:  Is it time to pass the Equal Rights Amendment?  If so, how can this be accomplished? How can organizations such as AAUW help in getting this amendment ratified once and for all?  In order to answer this question, students must know some detail about the amendment, how an amendment to the U. S. Constitution is passed, and what are the arguments for and against passage.  A tall order for a 5-6 minute speech!

Branch membership has been very generous in supporting Speech Trek with donations at dues renewal.  As a result, the committee has increased the prize money to be awarded this year to $500 for 1st Place, $250 for 2nd, $100 for 3rd and $50 for Honorable Mention.

All student speeches will be video-recorded.  When the branch winner is selected, the winning speech video is submitted to the state Semi-finals by uploading the video to You-tube.  The top five speeches submitted to the AAUW CA Speech Trek committee are awarded with a monetary prize.  The top 3 speeches compete at the State Convention or Annual Meeting for $500, $1000 and $1500 awards.

Eventbrite - 2017 Speech Trek

Speech Trek is a Mission-Based program that is part of our educational outreach efforts.  For more information, please contact

Membership Matters by Shirley Wheeler and Pat Winkle

On November 19 the Membership Committee hosted a meet and greet gathering for new and prospective members at the home of Sandi Schoenman. Our featured AAUW Outreach Committee was Speech Trek. Students who attend one of the nine high schools in Elk Grove are eligible to participate. Liz Jordan and Shari Beck, chairpersons of Speech Trek, presented the history of Speech Trek, how students apply and are selected to compete, and information about the actual event and the next steps for local winners who are eligible to compete at the state level. A number of times our branch winners have placed in the state contest. Liz and Shari also brought photo albums, literature for the students on how to apply and a timeline for completion of tasks for the committee members. This is the tenth anniversary of Speech Trek and Liz and Shari are just as enthusiastic and positive about the project as they were on day one!  Everyone enjoyed the gathering.  Join us on February 18 for the next Speech Trek contest. Refer to your newsletter for details.

Please join us in welcoming our newest members:

KimbWelcome New Memberserly McDaniel received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Arts in Higher Education from California State University, Northridge and a PhD in Education (higher education and policy) from the University of Southern California. Kimberly works full time in Administration at Cosumnes  College and will be the campus representative/liaison for the student AAUW member branch. She lives in Sacramento.

Bonnie March received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (accounting) from the University of Montana. She is a retired Certified Public Accountant. Bonnie lives in Sacramento and was referred by Karen O’Hara.

Elizabeth Rose received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Minnesota and a Master in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from California State University, Sacramento. She works part time as a senior legal analyst. Beth lives in Carmichael and was referred by Carol Hayes.

Jacqueline Rose received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Franklin A. Olin College of Engineering. She was a Research and Development Engineer. Jackie is currently a college student studying the environment.  She lives in Sacramento and was referred by Carol Hayes.

New AAUW Partner, Cosumnes River College, receives Campus Action Grant by Gloria Yost

Cosumnes River College has become the latest area institution of higher learning to join AAUW as a College/University Partner.  We welcome as a branch member, Kimberly McDaniel, who is the AAUW CU representative for CRC.  Kimberly is Vice President of Student Affairs.

The added exciting news is that CRC has received a Campus Action Grant from AAUW to support their continuing Women’s Seminars program, “Focus 4 Women”.   This program provides support and resources to help students through a series of workshops on topics such as:  balancing school, life and work; self-care; and leadership development.

Their most recent event featured keynote speaker Ruthie Bolton, a two-time gold medal winner and former WNBA player of the Sacramento Monarchs, who shared her stories of perseverance, domestic abuse, healing, self-love and self-empowerment.  An overnight retreat is planned in March for women who attended one or both of the first two conferences.

We welcome Cosumnes River College as a new AAUW College/University partner and look forward to working with them in the future.

AAUW 2 Minute Activist Reminder and Interest Calendars

In an earlier edition of Capital Ideas we told you about the Two Minute Activist program that AAUW National sponsors to make it easy for us to respond to issues we support and asked you to sign up for it. If you didn’t get around to it, here is the info again.  To register, Google AAUW Action Network, and the first listing will be for the Two Minute Activist.  Enter your info and they will start sending you the emails.

Now it is even more important for us to express our opinions about the issues we care about! The AAUW Public Policy Committee has set a goal of recruiting at least half of our members to participate in this program.  If you are already a Two Minute Activist or if you signed up because of this message or the earlier article, please contact Cherril Peabody at capeabody@comcast.net and let her know. Thanks!

Hardcopy Printable Articles, Interest Group Calendar and Birthdays

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