SONIA KOVALEVSKY HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS DAYS

ABOUT

For more than twenty years Sonia Kovalevsky Days have been organized and sponsored by AWM and held at colleges and universities throughout the country. Sonia Kovalevsky Days (SK Days) consist of a program of workshops, talks, and problem-solving competitions for female high school and middle school students and their teachers, both women and men. The purposes are to encourage young women to continue their study of mathematics, to assist them with the sometimes difficult transitions between middle school and high school mathematics and between high school and college mathematics, to assist the teachers of women mathematics students, and to encourage colleges and universities to develop more extensive cooperation with middle schools and high schools in their area.

In recent years AWM provided funding for SK Days with grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency. AWM awarded grants ranging on average from $1500 to $2200 each ($3000 maximum) to universities and colleges. Historically Black Colleges and Universities are particularly encouraged to apply. Programs targeted toward inner city or rural high schools are especially welcome.
In prior grant periods, applications, not to exceed six pages in ONE pdf file, included:
  • a cover letter including the proposed date of the SK Day, expected number of attendees (with breakdown of ethnic background, if known), grade level the program is aimed toward (e.g., 9th and 10th grade only), total amount requested, and organizer(s) contact information;
  • plans for activities, including specific speakers to the extent known;
  • qualifications of the person(s) to be in charge;
  • plans for recruitment, including the securing of diversity among participants;
  • detailed budget (Please itemize all direct costs in budget, e.g., food, room rental, advertising, copying, supplies, student giveaways. Honoraria for speakers should be reasonable and should not, in total, exceed 20% of the overall budget. Stipends and personnel costs are not permitted for organizers. The grant does not permit reimbursement for indirect costs or fringe benefits.)
  • local resources in support of the project, if any; and
  • tentative follow-up and evaluation plans.
Through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Association for Women in Mathematics expects to support Sonia Kovalevsky High School and Middle School Mathematics Days at colleges and universities throughout the country.