CO:de Catalyst expands, introduces students to coding
Students are learning the language of coding as CO:de Catalyst grows across West Tennessee.
"I've been teaching computer science since the 1980s, and this CO:de Catalyst incentive has been the best thing to get kids involved in computer science," said Vicki DeLoach, computer teacher at Madison Academic High School. "If we can get the talent in West Tennessee, we could be another Silicon Valley."
CO:de Catalyst is a program through theCO that utilizes Treehouse, a web platform that teaches students to build websites and code.
Last year was the first that CO:de Catalyst moved from being an extracurricular activity to a credit-worthy class in most JMCSS high schools, according to Ben Ferguson, co-founder and CEO of theCO, an entrepreneur and innovation center. The program, formerly named CO:de Academy, was also rebranded.
"The student engagement and the student interest is very, very high at every school we've rolled it out to," Ferguson said.
The need
According to theCO's website, the U.S. Department of Labor projected there would be 1.4 million computer specialist job openings by 2010. However, U.S. universities were expected to produce enough qualified graduates to fill only 29 percent of those jobs.
CO:de Catalyst began in 2013 "with the goal of improving technology education" and growing talent in West Tennessee, according to theCO's website.
Ferguson said he and William Donnell, co-founder and CTO of theCO, were at a conference in Nashville when they heard a panel on the importance of coding education and the imbalance between supply and demand. One panelist was from Treehouse, and Ferguson later spoke with him about rolling out coding education for Jackson students.
For Donnell, who also founded the creative agency Sodium Halogen, coding is part of what he does for a living.
"It's really been a passion of mine to have more people that are interested in this kind of stuff here in Jackson," Donnell said.
Soon, the partnership was launched.
"My hope would be that in the near future people will recognize coding in the same way they recognize Spanish or French as a second language," Ferguson said. "I would argue coding is a universal language right now."
The program
Students go through Treehouse at their own pace, earning badges and completing a project to earn a certain number of points. First-year students can win a trip to San Francisco, while second-year students may win the trip to San Francisco if they did not attend the previous year, or choose an iPad Mini or Apple Watch.
For a period of time, one of DeLoach's students was ranked fifth on Treehouse's leaderboard, a place that lists the top 10 leaders in badge achievement. There are nearly 200,000 students participating in Treehouse.
That student, Lyric Abbott, also placed first in the West Tennessee CO:de Catalyst Coding Competition.
Abbott graduated from Madison in May and is about to start studying graphic design at Watkins College of Art.
"I know one day I will have my own business and I will need a website," Abbott said. "Treehouse taught me how to code and make the best website to fit my business."
Abbott gained 530 badges through Treehouse and also designed a website for her sister, a Mary Kay consultant, which led her to place first.
Her trip to San Francisco in April was filled with even more firsts — her first time on a plane, a cable car and a ferry boat.
The group included 12 students from Madison, University School of Jackson, Liberty Technology High School and South Side High School. In San Francisco, they visited Pivotal Labs, Apple, Google, TechShop and LinkedIn.
Trip sponsors were LaunchTN, Personnel Placements, First Tennessee, Jackson Chamber, Jackson Energy Authority and Murray Guard.
"I learned a lot about coding and technology and along the way I met new people," Abbott said.
The future
Jazmin Rogers, another of DeLoach's students who graduated in May, said understanding coding will help her even though she plans to study psychology.
"Technology is becoming more prominent," Rogers said. "I think knowing how to design a website or make an app or just knowing how it all works is important."
Rogers said that while much of the curriculum focused on HTML and CSS, in order to gain more badges in Treehouse she branched off into other areas, falling in love with coding.
In San Francisco, Rogers said she most enjoyed visiting Pivotal Labs, where they gave students a hands-on workshop.
"The trip is more than just a trip to California to have fun," she said. "You get to learn a lot of great stuff, learn how to use this experience in your future career. It can be something you'll use in the rest of your life."
Ferguson said the careers attached to coding are both high wage and high in demand, and that students from any economic background can seek a career in coding.
Last year, six students went on the trip to San Francisco. The number has doubled, but Ferguson said the effects can reach even further as students share what they have learned.
"I've been so impressed and blown away by how talented these students are," Ferguson said. "It's always eye opening for them and for me."
In the coming school year, Chester County High School, Gibson County High School, Haywood County High School, Humboldt High School, Liberty Technology Magnet School, Milan High School, North Side High School, South Gibson High School and Trinity Christian Academy also will participate, according to theCO's website.
"We've got big plans for how this can really change the lives of a lot of kids," Donnell said.
Reach Katherine at (731) 425-9748. Follow her on Twitter @kathsburgess.
About CO:de Catalyst
Students from West Tennessee high schools are learning to build websites and code. Read more online: www.attheco.com/codecatalyst/
