MOUNT VERNON, NY – New York State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow and AT&T New York President Amy Kramer visited the AT&T & NSSA Girls of Color Coding Camp to address the 30 young participants on the importance of girls engaging in a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and career path. The two week-long program, held at the Benjamin Turner Middle School, is the Mt. Vernon’s only all-girl middle school coding program exclusively for young girls of color.
In addition, Senator Bailey, Assemblyman Pretlow and Kramer toured the program during which students and teachers demonstrated what the young women have learned during the experience and shared their final projects, which focused on curbing cyberbullying and promoting online safety through technology.
AT&T and Northeast STEM Starter Academy (NSSA) partnered to create the AT&T & NSSA Girls of Color Coding Camp, the city’s first free computer coding program for middle school girls of color (7th & 8th grade). The program is an initiative to help address the gender and diversity gaps in the tech industry and encourage the girls to enter the field of technology, specifically coding, an industry that is alarmingly male-dominant. The free two-week program was made possible by a $23,000 contribution from AT&T.
The young women participants learning computer coding basics and how technology and computer science can be used for social good to create solutions to address issues impacting youth, such as cyberbullying, online safety and being a good digital citizen.
The AT&T & NSSA Girls of Color Coding Camp also connected girls with coding projects that can make a difference in their respective schools and communities, while providing them hands-on experience developing their own technology skills. The girls were mentored by local STEM career professionals, educators and advocates to identify and design coding solutions and learn a myriad of coding applications and Python and Alice programing languages to create apps, digital storyboards, animated movies, learning games and basic websites.
To eliminate economic barriers, the free program also included lunch, snacks, computers and all needed materials for all the participants.
Coding is quickly becoming the new literacy and is the driver of all new digital technology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics andU.S. Department of Labor, much of the growth in the domestic and global economy will come from STEM-related jobs – a highly lucrative and competitive field. It is estimated by 2020 there will be 2.4 million unfilled STEM jobs with more than half made up of computer and coding careers, underscoring the importance of providing youth the tools and skills necessary to compete in this innovation economy.
The urgency for more computer science employees is accentuated by the low percentage of females who are currently employed at major technology firms (29 percent) and women pursuing bachelors’ degrees for computer science, just 18 percent. These alarming statistics emphasizes the importance of providing programing like the AT&T & NSSA Girls of Color Coding Camp.
“Jobs are going in a technological direction with all the innovations and advancements we’ve seen in the past decades,” said Assemblyman Pretlow. “The need for coding is rising at a fast rate and our youth need to learn these skills to be able to compete. I am happy that AT&T & NSSA Girls of Color Coding Camp are taking the initiative to educate young women in my district to help diversify the market and create opportunities for women of color to thrive in this field.”
“AT&T is proud to collaborate with Northeast STEM Starter Academy to develop and support this innovative experience for girls, as it further enhances our commitment to providing resources for STEM-related educational programming throughout the Hudson Valley and New York, and builds upon our vigorous efforts to bridge the gender and diversity gap in the technology industry,” said Kramer, president, New York, AT&T. “I am so impressed by these remarkable girls and am excited to see their final projects on using technology to curb cyberbullying and promote online safety, critical issues AT&T is dedicated to addressing. It was also an honor to have Assemblyman Pretlow tour the program and for providing motivational remarks to the impressive female participants.”
“The AT&T & Northeast STEM Starter Academy Girls of Color Coding Camp is an amazing program that not only empowers women but empowers women of color,” said State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey. “As the father of two young daughters of color, I am ecstatic to see opportunities like this for women in the state. Career opportunities in STEM related fields continue to grow, yet sadly, the number of women in STEM has not grown at the same rate. Programs like these are some of the best methods of addressing this issue. By providing access in this field to women of color, it is helping to shape a future where STEM truly reflects our country’s great diversity.”
“The Northeast STEM Starter Academy Starter Academy at Mt. Vernon is proud to partner with AT&T on this important educational initiative, which aligns with our commitment to STEM learning, as we enter our sixth year of providing access and exposure to at-risk, underserved students who are too often marginalized or discounted. Joining forces with global leader and giant AT&T certainly provided additional evidence of the worth and promise of all children, no matter their Zip Code, gender or race,” said Gerald Dennis, executive director and founder, NSSA at Mt. Vernon. “Witnessing 30 young ladies of color spending two weeks focused on coding and the high value currency it represents along with being mentored by successful women professionals within the STEM sector has left me no doubt of what hard work and dedication can produce.”
AT&T’s support for this program is part of the company’s legacy of supporting educational programs focused on STEM disciplines in New York through AT&T Aspire, the company’s signature $500 million philanthropic initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, programing, employee volunteerism and mentoring. Aspire is one of the nation’s largest corporate commitments focused on school success and workforce readiness by creating new learning environments and educational delivery systems to help students succeed and prepare them to take on 21st century careers.
