(New York, NY – May 25, 2022) – NAF is excited to announce our new partnership with Code.org! Code.org is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by young women and learners from other underrepresented groups. Through this partnership, fifteen NAF Information Technology (IT) educators will complete Code.org’s Computer Science Principles Professional Learning Program during the 2022-23 school year.
Teachers from select school districts nationwide are set to participate in this opportunity, which kicks off with two full-day sessions held this July in Dallas, in line with NAF’s professional learning conference, NAF Next. After those two in-person sessions, there will be three virtual sessions held ahead of the start of the school year, with four additional half-day sessions to be completed during the school year. NAF and Code.org’s professional learning program is immersive, highly supportive, and designed to prepare IT educators to provide high-quality computer science instruction to their students. These courses will also count toward students’ NAFTrack Certification course requirements.
“I’m really looking forward to participating in this project. Computer science is changing rapidly and it’s critical to me to stay ahead of the curve so I can best support my students,” said Amanda Glunz, NAF educator from Audubon Technology and Communication High School, Academy of Information Technology (AOIT), in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted a growth in the IT sector of 557K new jobs by 2026. What we are now seeing is that workers in nearly every industry are going to need to have the fundamental technical skills to be able to keep up with the changing workforce. As the industry evolves, there will be a greater focus on filling positions in cloud computing, the collection and storage of big data, and information security. Because of this exponential growth, there is an urgent need to address the skills gap, as not enough college graduates are filling open jobs and traditional education isn’t able to keep up with this fast-paced industry. In addition, diverse ethnic and gender representation are sorely lacking in the industry beginning at the college level.
NAF CEO, Lisa Dughi, said “Partnering with Code.org is a win-win for us, as we are well aligned with their mission. This partnership will help our educators bring the latest and greatest in computer science back to their classrooms to inspire the next generation of future leaders. Thousands of students will benefit from the knowledge educators will impart on them as part of this partnership.”
Ninety percent of parents want schools to teach computer science, but only 51% do. Meanwhile 67% of all new STEM jobs are in computing. In addition, studies show that women who try AP Computer Science in high school are ten times more likely to major in it, and Black and Latino students are seven times more likely.
“Ensuring teachers have the professional learning and support is critical to expanding access to computer science opportunities for students across the country. I’m excited that we’re partnering with NAF to help make that happen.” — Jackie Smalls, Chief Program Officer at Code.org
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About Code.org
Code.org® is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by young women and students from other underrepresented groups. Our vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core K-12 education. The leading provider of K-12 computer science curriculum in the largest school districts in the United States, Code.org also created the annual Hour of Code campaign, which has engaged more than 15% of all students in the world. Code.org is supported by generous donors including Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, the Infosys Foundation, Google and many more.
About NAF
NAF is a national non-profit organization that transforms the high school experience to prepare students for college, career, and future success. NAF’s educational design is uniquely comprehensive in its approach to skill development, enabling students of all backgrounds to participate in a meaningful education and gives businesses the opportunity to partner with schools to shape America’s future workforce through career-relevant curricula and work-based learning experiences, including internships.
Since 1980, NAF has been collaborating with communities to improve outcomes for students, especially where institutional and social barriers are the most prevalent, by implementing NAF academies – small learning communities within existing high schools. NAF has grown from one NAF Academy of Finance in New York City to hundreds of academies across the country focusing on growing industries including finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences; and support programs of study that are aligned with the National Career Clusters Framework.
During the 2021-22 school year, over 120,000 students attended 619 NAF academies across 38 states and territories. In 2021, NAF academies reported 99% of seniors graduated with 87% of graduates planning to go to college.