Educate Together school in east Meath will give families ‘more choice’

 Louise Walsh
An award-winning Meath entrepreneur and education advisor is currently campaigning for a new Educate Together School in East Meath.
Mary Carty from Bettystown is one of a number of parents in the area who are lobbying for a public vote for the secular second-level college.
The former Meath County Council arts officer was an advisor to Stemettes, a non-profit organisation inspiring girls to choose careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)

She also recently worked with NUI Galway as Executive Director at Blackstone Launchpad, an experiential campus program designed to introduce entrepreneurship as a viable career path to students, staff and alumni.
Now she is hoping that parents will show their support in the patronage of the planned new school for the area, in favour of Educate Together.
“The Department (of Education and Skills) announced four new secondary schools across the country, one of which is to be in the Drogheda/Laytown area,” she said.
“Parents can express their preference of the school patron by going onto the Department’s website before the end of July, putting in their own details and their child’s PPS number and choosing the option they prefer.
“I’m backing Educate Together because I like its ethos of inclusivity and equality and I’m very fortunate that my son Dara has had a great experience in the Educate Together national school on the Mornington Road.
“It’s very important that parents in the area vote before the deadline on July 31st. An Educate Together secondary school in the area will give families more choice,” she added.

Meanwhile, Mary believes that although the numbers of girls opting to choose careers in STEM subjects haven’t increased dramatically yet, more companies and businesses are trying to find ways to encourage women to take on careers especially in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
The Roscommon native who was co-founder of the world’s first STEM incubator - to provide seed funding, mentorship and support to 115 girls with innovative business or technology ideas - believes the stigma around girls working in these areas is changing slowly.

“Stemettes, to which I’m now an advisor, or ‘Godmother’, is on target to get two million girls into STEM careers by 2020 and I’m very proud of this,” she said.
“It’s really important that we have more diversity. We can’t keep going down the same road where new jobs and opportunities created in this sector are viewed predominately male or we will have an incredibly biased future.
“It’s not going to help the next generation or us the way we are at present. We need to include all voices and perspectives to solve problems in a more inclusive way.

“Not only females, we need to include people of colour, minorities and older people.
“However in my time working at this, I’ve seen more conversations and awareness, companies are thinking about how to make their businesses more inclusive. This is a very positive step.
“We’ve a long way to go but we have made a start. There are a lot more girls interested in taking on these subjects, and they are engaging in STEM activities earlier. It’s a good sign for the future”.