Get the latest tech news How to check Is Temu legit? How to delete trackers
NEWS
Inequity in Silicon Valley

More black and Latino students learn to code as Code.org classes swell

Jessica Guynn
USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Giovanna Munoz Ortiz is a 10th grader at Madison Park Academy, and every day, she learns to code.

Her public school in East Oakland, Calif., mirrors the neighborhood that surrounds it. It's nearly entirely Latino and African American. Almost all the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. And, until 2015, it didn't offer any computer science classes.

Code.org said Thursday that it has enrolled more than 18,600 students in its CS Principles course. About half of the students are Latino or African American.

"I had never really thought about it much before," Ortiz, 15, says. "Now that I am being exposed to it, I find it really interesting."

Ortiz is one of a growing number of students from underrepresented backgrounds gaining access for the first time to curriculum from Code.org, which gives them the knowledge and skills to pursue an education and career in computer science.

AP computer science

Code.org said Thursday that it has enrolled more than 18,600 high school students in its CS Principles advanced placement computer science course. About half of the students are Latino or African American. That could more than double the number of underrepresented minorities in AP computer science classes nationwide this year.

Though the numbers are still small, they are growing and the trajectory shows promise for Code.org's mission to reach students in urban and rural areas who have never before had the opportunity to study computer science.

Code.org is a nonprofit group backed by tech companies such as Facebook and Microsoft. Its mission is to get every school to add computer science to its curriculum, part of a growing effort to address the nation's shortage of computer scientists and the systemic lack of diversity in the tech industry.

That gender and racial gap has its roots in unequal access to computer science education. And that's something Partovi says he's determined to change so that students of all backgrounds have a shot at the plentiful jobs and high-paying careers in the field, just as he did.

Code.org targets high school computer science

Partovi, born in Tehran, taught himself to code on a Commodore 64. After immigrating to the U.S. as a child, he used his programming chops to land jobs as a software engineer during high school and college while his friends worked as busboys and babysitters. With a degree in computer science from Harvard, Partovi rose through the ranks at Microsoft and then went on to start two companies.

In 2013, he and his twin brother Ali Partovi started Code.org. Now Code.org is building on the track record of its Code Studio, which offers online tutorials in the basics of coding, by targeting high school computer science classes.

Code.org co-founder and CEO Hadi Partovi

"I am living the American dream," says Partovi. "But most Americans feel like the American dream is broken. It's stacked in favor of those with special privilege."

More and more, public schools are viewing computer science as a foundational skill much like reading, writing and math. Still, the majority of schools don't offer it.

"The idea that we would only teach computer science in select schools seems antithetical to the American dream," he says.

Code.org gets $15 million from Facebook

Casey Bethel wanted to help his students develop 21st century skills. So the science teacher in Manchester, Georgia started teaching the CS Principles course last year.

The Code.org course was developed in partnership with College Board and has been endorsed by the organization that administers the standardized tests that help determine college entrances as well as advanced placement courses. Code.org and College Board are targeting the gap between the female and minority students who demonstrate potential for computer science and those who end up studying it.

Of 32 students in Bethel's New Manchester High School class, 29 are African American, one is Latino and two are white. Fourteen are girls, all African American.

Bethel, who has a master’s Degree in plant genetics and conducted experimental research at the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies at the University of Georgia before teaching, says he has watched as they have soaked up knowledge — how the Internet works, what encryption is — and then immersed themselves in learning basic programming languages. Some move quickly through the curriculum, picking up more advanced languages. One high school senior confided in Bethel he had always wanted to study computer science. Now he's planning on a career as a software engineer.

Casey Bethel, a physics teacher in Georgia, is now teaching kids, mostly African American, about  computer science. "Making computer science accessible and equitable, that's a big deal for me," he says.

"Making computer science accessible and equitable, that's a big deal for me," Bethel said. "This is a game changer in the world of education."

Fernanda Gonzales, a 15-year-old tenth grader at Coliseum College Prep Academy in Oakland, is taking computer science for the first time and already she's preparing for a career in it.

A Harry Potter fan, she has an idea for an app (that would let people comment on and have discussions about books they are reading). And in college she wants to combine her love of sports (she's a boxer) with coding, perhaps using technology to help athletes improve their performance by pinpointing what their biggest challenges are.

She would be the first in her family to explore a career in computer science.

"This class has helped inspire that," Gonzalez said. "I realized that a lot of things can go into this field. I thought before it was just coding."

Students aren't the only ones expanding their minds and horizons. Sonia Spindt say she used to teach environmental science. For the last two years she has taught computer science at Madison Park Academy in Oakland.

Code.org trains 15,000 teachers in computer science

Ortiz and her other students are responding to the Code.org curriculum that features the likes of NBA player Chris Bosh and singer Aloe Blacc who urge kids to learn how to code like they did.

"We are about half and half in terms of students already buying into the idea and students who will need to be sold on its importance," Spindt says.

She's working to reach the rest of the students.

"Our school is trying to incorporate more computer science because we recognize it is such a valuable skill," Spindt said. "It is one of the best subjects a student can take these days to be prepared for the ever changing work force. It also reinforces the soft skills that they will need in the work force: problem solving, logic and creativity."

For more USA TODAY coverage of inclusion and diversity in the tech industry, click or tap here

Featured Weekly Ad