The GEMS (Girls Excelling in Math and Science)
club was started in 1995 by Laura Reasoner Jones, a
teacher and parent of two school-age daughters.. She
heard her daughter say she didn’t want to go to a
magnet school because “Math is hard.” Ms. Jones
enlisted the help and support of her local elementary
school, Clearview Elementary in Herndon, VA, and the
collaboration of her daughter’s fifth grade teacher,
Marian Childress, and started an after school club for
fifth and sixth grade girls.
GEMS was named after the Reston-Herndon
chapter of the AAUW’s (American Association of
University Women) annual conference, which gives
fifth and sixth grade girls a chance to spend a morning
with female role models in math, science and
technology fields. The GEMS club meets every spring
for 6-8 after-school sessions at Clearview Elementary
School in Herndon, VA.
When Ms. Childress retired, another wonderful
Clearview teacher, Ms. Carol Meier, stepped up to take
her place, and the enthusiasm has continued. Each
year, 15-20 girls spend an hour to an hour and half
after school exploring math, science, and technology
activities that are outside the scope of the standard
school curriculum. Guest speakers come to explain
their careers, and GEMS alumnae have started to come
back from Herndon High school to demonstrate
advanced principles.
There is no charge for GEMS membership. The girls
volunteer to bring in a snack, and the Clearview PTA
has generously donated to GEMS for the past three
years, a donation which has been gratefully accepted
by the leaders, Ms. Jones, and Ms. Meier. There are no
academic requirements for membership; interest in
math, science, and technology is the only prerequisite.
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