The national program is designed to close the gender gap in technology for girls in sixth through 12th grades.
Local Girls Who Code clubs teach girls to use computer science to impact the community and provide support to peers. The program began in New York City in 2012 with 20 girls. The national organization estimates the program will have touched 40,000 girls nationwide by the end of this school year.
“Well before college, young girls have begun to opt out of computer science. While girls’ interest ebbs over time, the largest drop-off happens in the middle and high school years,” said Reshma Saujani, Girls Who Code founder and CEO. “One of the reasons is that students don’t have the opportunity to explore computer science before college. Our clubs model allows for girls across the country to learn to code early and see how they can use it to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.”
The Tipp City Public Library applied for sponsor a club last spring and was matched with facilitator Anne Driscoll, who travels to Tipp City twice a month on Mondays to facilitate the program.
Driscoll is a senior software developer at Sogeti USA near Centerville.
When she signed up for a facilitator position with the program around a year ago, there weren’t any clubs in the Dayton area. “When I was notified that a club was starting near me, I was very excited,” she said.
“Software is an exciting, fulfilling and stable career choice. I’ve been so pleased with my jobs in computer science, and I wish that I had first been exposed to computer science when I was 12 … instead of as a sophomore in college already halfway done with a different degree,” Driscoll said. “I want everyone — especially girls and kids of color — to know that computer science is an option for them.”
Additional information on the Girls Who Code program is available online at www.girlswhocode.com. Information on the local program is available at the library or by calling 937-667-3826.
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