Planning
Familiarize yourself with the To-Do Checklist. This Excel spreadsheet lists the steps in the planning process, from initial planning to follow-up.
Use the following information and resources to complete the planning process:
To-Do Checklist (XLS - 42 KB)
How to Recruit Students
Consider the following recommendations for recruiting students to Girls in Technology events:
- Mail an event announcement to parents or guardians and include program brochures and any press articles.
- Send an e-mail to all business, math, science, and technology teachers in your local schools to request they announce your event during their classes. Send a similar e-mail to students in these courses.
- Inform school department chairs and ask them to notify their instructors.
- Mail a hard-copy letter to a targeted audience, for example, all sophomores and juniors with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
Announce the event at the student government association meetings, post flyers throughout the school, or post announcements in the school newspaper and Parent-Teacher-Student association newsletters.
Volunteer Outreach
To begin recruiting volunteers, a Cisco Women’s Action Network (WAN) lead should contact fellow WAN chapter members by e-mail, describing the event and requesting volunteers (for Cisco-sponsored events). Local technology firms, as well as local chapters of national organizations such as Women in Technology International (WITI) and Society for Women Engineers (SWE), are also possible sources for volunteers. Once volunteers are recruited, the event organizer should send a confirmation e-mail and follow up with a thank-you note after the event.
Use the following templates when communicating with volunteers:
Volunteer Recruitment Announcements (DOC - 20 KB)
Confirmation E-Mail (DOC - 20 KB)
Thank-You Note (DOC - 20 KB)
Press and Publicity
For Cisco Networking Academy Program events: Depending on the scope of the event, an event organizer can contact Cisco Public Relations before the event to help ensure a story is posted. Remember to work with the school or Academy for help contacting local press.
After the event, an event organizer can work with Cisco Marketing to post a story to Cisco’s internal Website, Academy Connection, and the Gender Initiative Website
Event Materials
Access these event materials, including evaluation forms, handouts, and presentations, to host a successful Girls in Technology event.
Consent Forms:
Cisco recommends that event organizers ask all students to complete a consent form to ensure their consent in using their testimonials or photographs for publicity and promotion. For Cisco Networking Academy Program events: Contact your Cisco Area Academy Manager for a copy of this form.
Evaluations:
To effectively measure the success of your event, ask each student to complete both pre- and post-evaluations.
Pre-Event Evaluation Template (DOC - 56 KB)
Post-Event Evaluation Template (DOC - 57 KB)
