Celebrating Computer Science Education Week

To commemorate this year’s Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek), Infosys Foundation USA is announcing several grants to support thousands of underrepresented and underprivileged students, young adults, and educators to learn about computer science through a combination of long-term programs as well as one-time coding events across the US.

"By supporting hands-on learning events like these, as well as helping teachers get access to high quality computer science training, the Foundation is working to ensure that every child in the US has the opportunity to experience and learn these computing skills, regardless of their circumstances," said Infosys Foundation USA Chairperson Ravi Kumar S.

The Foundation is partnering with four distinguished organizations to help underrepresented populations gain greater access to computer science education nationally:

• Computer Science Teachers Association to grow membership and engagement with K-12 computer science teachers in 75 local chapters across the US.
• Family Code Night to advance K-5 computer science education to thousands of North Carolina families through family engagement, school events and related programs.
• Hispanic Heritage Foundation to create a comprehensive K-8 Spanish language pathway for Spanish ELL students in the US and launch pilots in Raleigh, NC; Hartford, CT; and San Juan, PR.
• Teach For America to provide training and resources to K-12 teachers working in high-needs schools across the US and help them integrate computational thinking across grade levels and subject areas.

"CSTA continues to work collaboratively within the CS community to identify the needs of CS teachers, supporting professional growth and creating professional learning communities to best prepare these educators to teach and learn," says CSTA Executive Director Jake Baskin.

“We believe that elementary CS education is the foundation of overcoming the digital divide, and that family engagement is a unique and largely untapped resource in advancing such learning. We are pleased to be collaborating with Infosys Foundation USA to bring Family Code Night to thousands of families in elementary schools across North Carolina through a new statewide model with a group of outstanding collaborating organizations,” says John Pearce, Founder, Family Code Night.

The Hispanic Heritage Foundation believes all youth including Latinos deserve access to technology-based programs and have an opportunity to innovate and enter the workforce in a stronger position which will help America move forward,” said Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of HHF. “We are energized by the commitment of Infosys Foundation USA and the other partners for their vision and leadership in CS.”

“Our teachers are committed to excellence and equity in the classroom, and ensuring access to high quality STEM education and exposing students to the wonders of computer science are important parts of that work,” says Cullen White, Teach For America’s managing director of computer science. “With the support of Infosys Foundation USA, we're pursuing innovative programming that helps ensure more teachers in high-needs schools can bring computational thinking learning experiences to their classrooms, helping bridge the digital divide and inspiring students to become creators of technology.”

In addition, Infosys Foundation USA will also provide grants to ten different organizations located across the US to host free computer science-focused events during CSEdWeek. Among the diverse groups that will participate include students from high poverty schools, girls, students with autism and learning/physical disabilities, deaf students, African American, Latino, and Native American students, and adult female live performance artists.

Listed below in alphabetical order are CSEdweek-focused grants:

• American Indian Science and Engineering Society: Encourage one hundred Native American students in Oklahoma to develop interest in computer science, technology, and coding via hands-on Sphero robotics.
• ATLAS Institute & CS/University of Colorado: Offer a workshop to empower thirty adult female artists in Boulder and Denver, Colorado to design and develop interactive stage lighting systems via a crash course in computing and hands-on programming of microcontrollers.
• Broward Education Foundation: Utilize robotics and ongoing professional development for ten teachers to incorporate strategies for special needs students across ten schools in Broward County, Florida and have them showcase their CS work at the local Special Olympics.
• ChickTech: Offer a two-day course for one hundred underserved high school girls in Austin, Texas to take part in hands-on learning utilizing proven models of near-peer mentorship and community support.
• Constellations Center: Promote awareness and broadening participation in computer science for two hundred high school students from low resourced Atlanta Public Schools in Georgia.
• Deaf Kids Code: Provide a coding leadership experience for fifty deaf students located in various states through a combination of shadowing, mentorship, and discussions with industry leaders & training.
• Iridescent: Educate sixty students, parents and educators from Title 1 schools in Los Angeles, CA and Harris County Library, Texas in foundational concepts of AI, hands-on engineering, and computer science.
• New York on Tech: Offer multiple workshops for seventy-five high school juniors and seniors enrolled in high poverty high schools in New York City (Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Queens) to reinforce exposure to opportunities in computer science and tech careers.
• STEAM:CODERS: Provide coding and computer science instruction and engagement to students from Title 1 schools in Pasadena, CA and their parents throughout the month of December.
• Tech Kids Unlimited: Offer a celebratory day in Brooklyn, NY for students (ages 7-21) with autism, learning and emotional disabilities to learn about computational thinking via coding workshops for students and parents.

For a complete list of organizations supported by Infosys Foundation USA, please visit here.

About Infosys Foundation USA

Infosys Foundation USA is focused on bridging the digital divide in America by supporting high quality computer science education and coding skills with a particular focus on underrepresented communities. It aims to give children and young adults the skills they need to become creators, not just consumers, of technology. In pursuit of this mission, the Foundation has partnered with internationally acclaimed non-profits and institutions like Code.org, DonorsChoose.org, and the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, Infosys Foundation USA offers the Infy Maker Awards program and #WhyIMake to inspire makers across the U.S. to demonstrate creative excellence in making projects with genuine impact.

Learn more at http://www.infosys.org/usa/ follow on Twitter @InfyFoundation or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InfosysFoundationUSA.

Media contacts:

For further information, please contact: PR_Global@infosys.com