Thursday, August 8, Cedar Rapids, IA – As NewBoCo’s partnership with Code.org continues to provide computer science training to Iowa’s K-12 teachers for a third year, the nonprofit is introducing a new way for those who support computer science in Iowa’s classrooms to be part of this mission: 99 Counties for Coding.
This campaign will show the impact computer science classes have had on students, teachers, and school districts across Iowa.
“99 Counties for Coding offers a unique opportunity to support educators seeking computer science experience throughout the state, making concepts like problem solving, collaboration, and how to create with computers accessible to all,” NewBoCo K-12 Education Director & Code.org program manager Samantha Dahlby said. “Teaching future generations to think critically is a component for life-long learning that we, as a quickly evolving society, won’t regret.”
99 Counties for Coding will take place during the week of August 12-16. NewBoCo’s goal is to receive a donation from every county across Iowa to support computer science education.
So far, 364 elementary, middle, and high school teachers have brought computer science classes to 18,071 K-12 Iowa students thanks to the training they received in one of NewBoCo’s Code.org programs.
This summer, 83 middle and high school teachers, including two educators from Minnesota, participated in one of NewBoCo’s three workshops, which were located across the state of Iowa (Decorah, Dubuque, and Storm Lake). Not only do these workshops enable teachers to implement computer science content, but participants learn about instructional strategies to teach these foundational concepts to a wide variety of students.
Starting in August, a series of 11 K-5 Computer Science Fundamentals workshops, made possible via the STEM Scale-Up program and Computer Science is Elementary grants, are also scheduled throughout the state in hopes that students come into contact with technology driven learning experiences.
All funds raised will impact students in a variety of ways:
- $5 covers workshop materials for a teacher
- $20 covers workshop food for a teacher
- $110 covers the cost to train an elementary school teacher
- $2,000 provides yearlong training to a high school teacher
- $2,400 provides yearlong training and a hardware kit to a middle school teacher
If you have questions about NewBoCo’s teacher training program or want to learn how to bring computer science education to your school, contact NewBoCo K-12 Education Director Samantha Dahlby at samantha@newbo.co.
About NewBoCo
The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative (NewBoCo) is a 501(c)(3) organization located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. NewBoCo’s programming supports entrepreneurship, innovation, and tech education to help Iowans become more resilient and thrive in a changing economy.
About Code.org Iowa Partnership
Through a partnership with Code.org, a national nonprofit, NewBoCo offers professional development workshops to train current teachers how to teach computer science.
Media Contact: Jessalyn Holdcraft, NewBoCo Director of Marketing
jessalyn@newbo.co
