All-Girls STEM Academy Coming Soon to Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Meet Dr. Crystal Howe, founder of GO BIG Charlotte, an all-girls tuition-free STEM academy coming to the Queen City in time for the 2024-25 academic year.

“[It stands for] Great Opportunities and Boundless Innovations for Girls,” says Howe.

It’s not just a catchy acronym. Dr. Howe is planning to bring 150 young girls from kindergarten to second grade under her wing and expose them to the wide world of STEM.

“Every girl, when she walks onto our campus, will know, not just feel, but know that she is valued, that she is powerful, that she is capable of achieving every dream that she has in STEM, and that the STEM future looks just like her.”

And this early start plays a critical part in narrowing the gender gap in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

“Research shows that all-girls environments are amazing at fostering this passion in girls for pursuing STEM. In fact, I think it’s about six times as likely for girls in all-girls school setting to want to pursue careers in science, technology, and mathematics.”

As a public charter school, GO BIG receives local, state, and federal funding, which means…

“It’s absolutely free. Everything that we’re offering, this amazing, unique opportunity, it feels like it shouldn’t be. But that’s the wonderful thing about public charter schools, they’re free.”

The under-representation of women in STEM fields won’t be solved in one school year, but you have to dream big… and GO BIG.

“If you could think of the perfect school, the most innovative, rigorous, joyous place that your girls would want to go, how else could she go big than to GO BIG?”

Enrollment is only open to girls going into kindergarten through second grade, but Dr. Howe aims to expand GO BIG by a grade level each year, eventually becoming a K-8 school. For more information on GO BIG Charlotte and how to enroll, visit their website HERE.