YOUTH CODE JAM

Youth Code Jam sparks interest and build confidence in creative computing through innovative and impactful K-12 student programs aimed at reaching students who might not think of themselves as "math and science kids" with the goal of building the future workforce and inspiring the next generation of innovators and problem solvers.

We focus on family-centered events and activities that get all kids excited about computer science, build their confidence in their skills and inspire them to imagine themselves in the tech-driven jobs of the future. Helping students build an identity as a successful STEM learner is especially important if we want to attract a diverse technology workforce, particularly when it comes to students under-represented in technology today – girls, low income students and students of color. And a diverse technology workforce means better products and better solutions.

Because computer science is not fully integrated as a core literacy, we rally parents, teachers and kids around the joy of computing through out of school time programming and teacher professional development. We host free Community Code Jams and provide afterschool programs, summer camps, special events and teacher training.

Embedded in Youth Code Jam's DNA is the commitment to inclusion, ensuring that no child is ever turned away from our programs because of an inability to pay and no child feels left out because he or she is differently-abled. Our strategy is to develop and deploy programs and curriculum that remove barriers and support measurable outcomes for our priority client population (those who are least served, including low income, neurodiverse students, girls and students of color).This work falls into four integrated key areas:

Family and industry engagement with computer science: Our unique Family Jams are free, fun, family events where K-12 students and their parents learn about digital game development, coding, cyber security, web design and other computer science concepts and languages from volunteer computer programmers. The goal is creative skill building and inquiry for tomorrow's technology workforce. Currently, we run Texas' largest family coding event, with more than 1,000 participants in San Antonio. We also host large-scale jams in Austin and the Rio Grande Valley.

Teacher professional development: Rooted in tool-based creative computing activities and lesson plans, our workshops assist teachers in utilizing technology they already have access to and building their competency in using those tools in the classroom across Texas and the nation. In addition, Youth Code Jam also teaches teachers how to host their own school-based Family Jams. In 2018, we trained 50 teachers, resulting in 38 jams in 21 Texas cities, mostly rural and Title 1 Schools, in 2018-19.

Out of school time provider training: This outreach is primarily focused on reaching librarians with context-driven professional workshops. As libraries move from content space to creation/maker space, we want to show them how to start with the books to create coding activities with a literary twist. We have developed a set of lesson plans using books as a means to further explore computational thinking and creative coding.

Creative computing summer camps and experiences for students: Limited to our work in San Antonio, Texas, we provide a series of "charging stations" so students can connect with us around coding, even after they engage at one event. In this way, we've build a series of levels for children to move through in their exploration from beginner to advanced coding, from participant to volunteer to leader.

These pillars are all executed with a focus on fostering, establishing and prioritizing collaborations with organizations to ensure unduplicated, efficient delivery of services.

Youth Code Jam built an empowered and engaged team of more than 300 industry volunteers who create activities, attend and mentor at events and lead the work we do in our communities. To support these volunteers, we have a core team of two full-time staff and five part-time staff that includes a certified teacher and software developers - all working together to develop innovative activities and lesson plans.

Our diverse board of directors represents a cross section of industry, including community members and professionals in domains ranging from entrepreneurship, cyber security and engineering to business development and marketing. We build teacher and alumni cohorts to further our capacity, and we engage universities, community colleges and out of school time programs to extend our reach. We are fortunate to also have strong community partnerships with organizations who have believed in, championed, and grown our impact, including Rackspace, 80|20 Foundation, Google Fiber, The KLE Foundation, H-E-B, and others.

We have accomplished building Texas' largest family coding event, with more than 1,000 participants in 2018. In 2016, Youth Code Jam received shout-outs from The White House as part of its #CSforAll Initiative around reaching neurodiverse students. In 2017, YCJ was designated an approved Texas Education Agency continuing professional education provider. In 2018, we expanded into Austin and the Rio Grande, as well as seeding Community Code Jams in 21 cities across Texas. In 2019, we started the translation of all our coding activities into Spanish to further reduce barriers to learning for families. Since becoming a nonprofit in 2016, Youth Code Jam has reached over 20,000 students.

But more important are the key metrics and outcomes.
* 51% girls
* 50% low income
* 80% students of color
* 20% neurodiverse students

* 94% show an intent to continue their own learning
* 85% of parents better understand the connection between computers and jobs
* 75% of students express an interest in pursuing a technology related job
* 80% of parents express a willingness to support their child in learning to code

Next for us is to scale our existing programs in a thoughtful and targeted way throughout Texas, and, eventually other states. To do this, we believe we must have our ear to the ground, a solid feedback loop and a willingness to innovate to keep pace with the changes in the industry. It's imperative all of our work reflects the current skills needed in the workforce. While we can continue to lay the groundwork in teaching computational thinking, python, javascript, and Java (for example)...we just also need to be able to quickly and effectively integrate topics like artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented reality with consistently great and replicable results.