We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Last month, Brenda Reiter, Program Director for Code Girls United, reached out to Blaine County Library Director Valerie Frank about the possibility of hosting a coding program for girls in grades 4-8. The Library Board of Trustees approved the proposal, giving girls in Blaine County the opportunity to attend a local branch of 2021/2022 Code Girls United beginning on November 3 and running concurrently with the academic school year. However, the community’s support is requested.
This program is offered at no cost to girls between the ages of ten and fourteen years old. To be eligible, girls must be no older than 14 on August 1, 2022. Classes will be held every Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Blaine County Library, located at 112 4th Street West in Chinook.
Headquartered in Kalispell, Montana, Code Girls United was started in 2016 to engage youth with computer science, coding, business, and related science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics. Code Girls United teaches young girls to identify and design real-world applications (apps) for cell phones, tablets, and computers. Using App Inventor, they learn the basics of creating an app that solves a local community problem while applying computer engineering and practical business skills.
“The success record has attracted the attention of Silicon Valley rain-makers who want to see Montanans succeed in developing a pool of future local talent. Code Girls United puts the power of business and computing in the hands of these young girls. You might say, we help young girls code their own future,” said Reuter.
According to their website (www.codegirlsunited.org), the mission of Code Girls United is to expand future career opportunities for young girls through hands-on experiences in coding, technology, and business. The organization’s vision is that women will play key roles in economic growth through the use of their technology and business skills. “Self-confidence is a super power. Once you start to believe in yourself, magic starts to happen,” the website reads.
To date, the program boasts six years of instruction, 14 program locations, 449 happy students, 42 apps created, and 15 scholarships awarded. “We provide an opportunity for girls to see if they like working with technology by giving them the tools to try it out,” founder Marianne Smith stated.
Program participants will further gain the opportunity to compete in three different competitions, including Code Girls United Northwest Regional App Challenge—which awards scholarship prizes, the International Technovation Challenge, and the nationwide Congressional App Challenge.
As an organization, Code Girls United staff will provide all the materials and supplies needed to teach the program. Reuter has also offered to provide training and tech support to help with firewalls and other details. However, Frank requires additional assistance.
“In order to make this work effectively, we really need some community involvement. If anyone has a passion for coding that they are willing to share, we could use that expertise. In other communities, a high school student is teaching the first eight sessions, where the girls learn about writing code, and then they have business owners coming in to do some of the other classes. My hope is that we can do something similar here and get some volunteers from the community who know something about coding, possibly a high school or college student,” Frank stated.
Anyone with an interest and able to provide such aid is encouraged to contact Frank at the Blaine County Library (BCL) by calling 406-357-2932.
Girls interested in the program are invited to visit the BCL. Registration is also available online for Code Girls classes at codegirlsunited.org/registration.
To date, no girl in Montana has taken the Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science test. The organizers of Code Girls United hope to change that statistic with courses like the one offered at the BCL. Similar programs are being offered in Anaconda, Browning, Columbia Falls, Evergreen, Havre, Joliet, Kalispell, Polson, Ronan, and Sidney.
