Thursday, March 28, 2024

Goodgirls Write Code awarded with $10,000 for Hampton Roads’ schools

Linkhorn Park Elementary School hosted an after school coding club in February. Students learned the basics of computer programming using an MIT-developed program called Scratch. (Southside Daily file photo)

VIRGINIA BEACH — Girls who want to learn about coding and computer science might have a better opportunity after $10,000 was awarded to a local organization that focuses on developing STEM education in low-income schools.

The Verizon Foundation recently donated $10,000 to Goodgirls Write Code, a Virginia Beach-based nonprofit that aims to improve STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — education and future job opportunities for school-aged children, especially girls.

“Basic technical skills are required in almost every industry today, yet students lack the proper training to fulfill this requirement, Goodgirls Write Code founder Sasha Oppleman wrote in a news release.

The money will likely be spread among Hampton Roads’ Title I schools to expand those facilities’ computer science programs and provide STEM education training for teachers, the release states.

In February, Goodgirls Write Code hosted a five-week after-school program at Linkhorn Park Elementary School. The class taught more than five dozen students the basics of coding, using games like “Scratch” that break down coding into its simplest form.

“The Verizon/Goodgirls Write Code partnership focuses on the principle that all girls should be afforded equal opportunity and accessibility to computer science education,” Oppleman wrote.

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