Escalante Elementary School has been selected by Code.org for a $10,000 award for the school to purchase computer hardware and accessories to improve computer science learning for students. Cameron Wilson, chief operating officer and VP of government affairs at Code.org, will present the award in an assembly at the school on Dec. 7 at 1:20 p.m.
Mischelle Colby, a teacher at Escalante Elementary School in the Salt Lake City School District, submitted the application and was selected from a competitive pool of Utah school applicants for this award. The funds will help bring much-needed technology to the school to support improved student learning outcomes and exposure to computer science.
“We are very excited and grateful to Code.org for this opportunity and for recognizing our school,” said Paula Espinoza, assistant principal at Escalante Elementary. “It’s so important to give students access to code technology as early as possible, it helps them see how it ties in with what they’re learning in class and how it can be a potential career path.”
This award is part of the state’s partnership with Code.org to increase computer science opportunities for all Utah students in grades K-12.
“Code.org is excited to partner with both the Utah STEM Action Center and Utah State Office of Education to expand access to computer science. They are among our first state partners leading the nation in this movement,” Wilson said. “This partnership can help change the lives of Utah’s students by giving them foundational knowledge that can serve them throughout their lives and put them on a pathway toward the highest-demand jobs in the U.S. economy.”
Monday Dec. 7 is also the start of the global movement Hour of Code, which was created by Code.org in 2013 and reaches tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries. Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials are available in more than 40 languages. No experience is required.
State and local leadership will be present at the all-school assembly where the check will be presented, and then partner leaders and 4th grade students at the school will engage in an Hour of Code.
Other Hour of Code Events in Utah:
Gov. Gary R. Herbert will learn to code with students grades 1st through 8th from Ascent Academy on Dec. 7, 2015.
Engineers from Goldman Sachs will provide training to a group of 8th grade students on Dec.11, 2015, to teach students how to code.