|
If you’re thinking of starting an elementary school math or science club, one of your biggest questions is probably: how and where can I start one?
Unless you’re planning on running your club as an independent, private organization – which can provide you with more flexibility, but which also comes with significantly greater responsibility and logistical issues that we won’t go into here – you’re going to need to find a school to host your club and most likely a faculty sponsor. Elementary school teachers are experienced at handling young children, and can often give you insightful advice as well as administrative support and the adult presence that many elementary schools require.
Fortunately, most elementary schools would love to have high school students contribute to a more enriching school experience for their student body, especially in an outreach environment, so it is often not too hard to find an eager sponsor. Following are a few suggestions for how you might go about finding a school and sponsor to host your club:
- Science Club Commons "Club Matching" Page: As this website is dedicated to helping high school students run and maintain elementary school math and science clubs, we’ve created a service to make it easy for those of you looking to start such a club. Our “Club Matching” page is basically a matching service, where you can check out your state and city and see local schools and teachers who have posted their interest in hosting a club, or indicate your own desire to start one. Click here to visit the "Club Matching" page.
- Think back to your elementary school connections: If you weren’t able to find a quick and easy match on this site's "Club Matching" page, the next easiest thing to do is probably to think about your old elementary school and elementary school teachers that you’ve had or know, or even those who your friends have connections to! You can pop in and visit a former teacher, or send an email or set up a meeting with an elementary school principal. Just ask if they would be interested in hosting a club. Many principals and teachers would be thrilled to see one of their alumni coming back!
- Ask your high school teachers or principal: Your high school teachers or principal may have colleagues at elementary schools that they can refer you to, or other people that they can suggest you talk to. Try asking math and science teachers or club advisors.
- Talk to the school district office or Parent Teacher Organization: The school district or local Parent Teacher Organization usually has good information about each of the elementary schools in your area. They may know of a school or a teacher looking to enrich their math or science program, or one where such an initiative would be particularly valuable. You might also find specific schools that you would like to target: schools in underserved areas or schools with programs for high-achieving math students, for example.
Once you have found a school where you can host your club, and even while you are in the process of searching for one, you should start thinking about the target audience for your club:
Determining Your Audience
Page last updated 06.06.08 by Serena Yeung |
