SALT LAKE CITY - March 12, 2020 - BootUp Professional Development today updated the status of its joint initiative with the highly acclaimed Amazon Future Engineer program. Over 60 US districts have already applied, with dozens more expected to finish the application process by the March 31 deadline. The sponsorship's primary goal is to increase sustainable access to computer science education for underserved and underrepresented elementary school students.
"This opportunity will close equity gaps by enabling professional computer science learning for teachers in deserving communities throughout the nation," said Clark Merkley, BootUp's Executive Director. "It's truly one of the first major, national long-term sponsorships focused on implementing sustainable, district-wide computer science initiatives. We're extremely proud to be a part of something that will have a measurable, positive impact for decades to come."
The Amazon Future Engineer sponsorship funds BootUp's onsite professional development to elementary teachers on the content and pedagogy of computer science education for three full years. An investment in proven, sustainable solutions, the initiative will be an important launch pad for hundreds of thousands of students in bridging skill gaps at an age when they are are just beginning to formulate ideas about their futures.
BootUp professional development and support is customized and scheduled to take into account each district's unique needs. Teachers learn how to engage students with easy-to-use, block-based programming languages (ScratchJr and Scratch) to create and share interactive stories, animations, games, art, music, and more through problem solving and other fundamental computer science practices. BootUp programs require no prior coding experience and include interest-driven, no-cost curricula that continue in perpetuity after the three-year sponsorship is complete.
About BootUp Professional Development
BootUp PD is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit with experience implementing district-wide elementary computer science initiatives that focus on creativity and problem-solving. BootUp has worked with over 300 elementary schools in nine states, impacting almost 150,000 students since 2015. BootUp prepares teachers to facilitate open-ended coding projects in the free platforms Scratch and ScratchJr that are not only project-based, but also personally meaningful. Students pick something that is interesting to them and find a way to explore that interest with code through design, music, art, animation, games, or stories.
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Contact
Clark Merkley, Executive Director, BootUp PD
