CURRENT POSITION Librarian, Carroll Elementary School, TX DEGREE MLS, Sam Houston State University, 2011 FAST FACT Chacon used to be in an all-girls racing club, but now her weekends include speed reading all the books she can. FOLLOW X: @thegoodread; Instagram: @stemlib; linktr.ee/AmandaChacon Photo by Xenia Torres Photography

STEM Gem

Recognizing that young girls in groups are often outvoiced by male peers, Amanda Chacon—School Library Journal’s 2024 School Librarian of the Year—founded STEM GEMS, a club offering no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech challenges for girls. In this space, students are emboldened to explore, take risks, and engage in STEM challenges, such as designing prosthetics using Tinkercad and 3-D printing.

“I curate inspiring spaces where kids can dive into stories and create their own worlds with STEM activities,” she says. Chacon sees herself as the bridge between books and building blocks. She has launched library programs within her school and district that are future-ready, inclusive, and engaged with a community that is 93 percent economically disadvantaged and largely Spanish-speaking. STEM GEMS welcomes notable female guest speakers in STEM fields, from firefighters to engineers, NASA specialists to entrepreneurs.

Chacon won five district grants to form clubs, increase technology, and establish community outreach programs. In her library, the “stembrary” resources highlighting women in STEM are placed in special displays, and students are encouraged to use the LEGO, Snap Circuits, and Ozobots STEM stations. Her clubs empower young minds to explore, invent, and connect in a supportive environment where risks are acknowledged as learning, not failure. By offering a safe place for girls to explore STEM, Chacon leads them to take ownership of their own learning and interests.

“Every child deserves a place to feel seen and heard,” Chacon says, “and that’s what I strive to create.”