Hello NGCP Collaborative Leadership Team members, I'm assisting a trusted colleague in her doctoral research. She is looking for girls (middle and high school) to participate in a study. Attached is the consent form and a letter below to send to parents. IF you have parents of girls in STEM programs you can easily send this to, I would appreciate it. I know many of you do not have direct access to parents, so no worries. Feel free to write back to me if you have questions OR, if your preference is that I distribute this to programs you are aware of. Thanks so much! Karen ----------------------------------------------------- Dear Parent: I am a graduate student under the direction of Professor Mary Margaret Fonow in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University. I am conducting a research study to better understand girls' participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs and activities. Your child was selected based on your past child's participation in an STEM program provided through their connection with the National Girls Collaborative Project and we are respectfully requesting your parental consent to allow your child to participate in an anonymous online survey to support a research study. The purpose of this study is to improve the representation and access for girls to STEM education and career options. I am inviting your child's participation, which will involve completing an online survey. Your child's participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose not to have your child participate or to withdraw your child from the study at any time, there will be no penalty (it will not affect your child's participation in current or future STEM programs). Likewise, if your child chooses not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty. The results of the research study may be published, but your child's name will not be used. Although there may be no direct benefit to your child, the possible benefit of your child's participation is to increase access and inclusion of other girls in STEM programs who may lack resources to participate. There are no foreseeable risks or discomforts to your child's participation. The online survey is completely anonymous and should not take more than 20 to 30 minutes. If you are willing to allow your child to participate in this survey, please sign and return the attached consent form via email to gabriela.a.gonzalez@asu.edu<mailto:gabriela.a.gonzalez@asu.edu>. Once the consent form is received, the researcher will send a link to the survey with an assigned participation code via cell phone message text or email based on your personal preference. All personal contact data collected will be used strictly for the purposes of this study and secured via encryption and password protected for the duration of the study and until the final dissertation results have been published, after which all data will be permanently deleted from its temporary and secured storage location. If you have any questions or concerns about this research study, please feel free to contact the researcher directly (Gabriela A. Gonzalez, gabriela.a.gonzalez@asu.edu<mailto:gabriela.a.gonzalez@asu.edu>, 480-329-8448). If you have any questions about you or your child's rights as a subject/participant in this research, or if you feel you or your child have been placed at risk, you can contact the Chair of the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board, through the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance, at (480) 965-6788. Respectfully Gabriela A. Gonzalez