SHU, Bridgeport Public Schools Encourage Students to Code

Federal grant partnership supports district-wide event to acquaint children with computer coding

Sacred Heart University’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education, in partnership with Code.org and Bridgeport public schools (BPS), is organizing a district-wide Hour of Code event for Bridgeport schoolchildren on Dec. 11. Organizers expect it to be the largest Computer Science Education Week event the state has ever seen.

Hour of Code is sponsored by Code.org, a leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding computer science access in schools. Code.org’s vision, according to its website, is to ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn computer science, as they do biology, chemistry or algebra. SHU is Code.org’s official partner in Connecticut, a collaboration between SHU’s Farrington College of Education and the School of Computer Science & Engineering.

BPS will host the virtual, district-wide event, for all of their nearly 20,000 K-12 students. Students will use devices to participate remotely in coding activities. Both Michael Testani, BPS superintendent, and Dave Henry, the school system’s director of science, are enthusiastic about Hour of Code.

“Governor Lamont, education commissioner Miguel Cardona, along with generous donations from the Dalio Foundation, were instrumental in bringing the necessary technology into the hands of our learners,” Testani said, speaking of a public-private partnership which distributed thousands of laptops to aid distance learning during the pandemic. “Sacred Heart University and great partnerships with Code.org and Project {FUTURE} are all to thank for this opportunity.”

Henry framed the virtual event in the context of distance learning. He told teachers this month, “I hope you are excited to partake in this big event. Having been isolated with remote learning and COVID in general, I’m hoping we can all enjoy being part of something bigger.”

“This will be the largest Hour of Code event in the state this year and the largest one ever in Connecticut,” said Darcy Ronan, an assistant professor in SHU’s Farrington College of Education and director of Project {FUTURE}, a $5.1 million grant to fund professional development and study computer science in elementary schools. Project {FUTURE} includes multiple SHU and Marquette University faculty and partnering school districts in Connecticut and Wisconsin.

“BPS have shown a strong commitment to computer science learning opportunities by bringing a coding experience to every student with this Hour of Code event and by partnering in the multi-year innovations of Project {FUTURE},” Ronan said. “Putting devices in the hands of every student is an amazing accomplishment. Access is essential for distance learning and it is also a springboard for innovative and ambitious projects, like this district-wide Hour of Code event.”

On Dec. 11, Bridgeport students will join a live district event with speakers. Teachers will then instruct their students to go onto the Hour of Code website and pick an activity, depending on their grade and interest. Students can choose activities that include cartoon cats and sloths dancing, an activity that incorporates elements of the game Minecraft, or one that involves space adventures or cooking.

“These activities make it easy for students and teachers to get started in coding,” said Ronan, who also serves on the state’s computer science steering committee. “They’re going to feel like they’re playing a game, but they are actually building and changing code.”

Learning computer science will provide students with skills to qualify for jobs in high-demand areas and to be empowered as both consumers and creators of technology in the 21st century. “They are thinking, creating, collaborating and solving programs,” Ronan said. “These are all things we want students to experience.”

Computer science has a historical equity and access problem. Ronan said that is why organizations like Code.org and Project {FUTURE} exist and have attracted funding: to ensure all students have the opportunity to learn computer science.

“We know that of the 19,000 learners in Bridgeport public schools, there are future leaders in the field of computer science,” Testani said. “We want to engage those students as early as possible with the skills learned through computer science.”