Our Story

Spring 2017

We realized that Computer Science Education in America needs a lot of work. Here are some statistics that highlight this:

• Only 40% of schools in America teach computer science
• Only 34 states allow students to count computer science towards high school graduation
• There are currently 500,000 unfilled computing jobs and in 2020 that number will grow to 1,000,000
• Fewer than 3% of college students earn computer science degrees
• Only 7 states have created K-12 computer science standards
• Computer science majors can earn 40% more than the college average
• Studies find that students say computer science class is second only to the arts in student enjoyment
• 90% of parents want their child to study computer science
• The tech field is dominated by white and Asian males

Then we had a realization. Why can't experienced high school student coders teach kids coding? And why can't we start teaching kids as young as 5th graders rather than making them wait until high school?"

We created a pilot course with the West Side Commons, an organization that provides Academic and expanded learning opportunities that are based on the principles of Strycker’s Bay Neighborhood Council’s highly successful LACASA Youth Program and we formed a partnership working to start our first high school student taught coding course. It was a success!

Fall 2017

We began to expand our reach. We recruited more student teachers and found new organizations to partner with including the Goddard Riverside Community Center Beacon Program and the Ideal School. We had approximately 50 students across all of our weekly after school courses ranging from the 5th to 9th grades.

2018

Classes started up again and we continued to grow the program. With the International Blue Crescent (IBC) Organization, we created opportunities for 41 Syrian Children and high school students at Fatih Kız İmam-Hatip Anadolu Lisesi. This course was in Turkey and was a great addition to our programming.

2022

We are still going strong and always running courses. We are also always excited to find new organizations to partner with in order to provide computer science education for more people. Please reach out if you're interested.