Chances are you didn’t have the opportunity to take a coding class in high school — and that's not because you graduated more than a decade (or two) ago. According to a Gallup study, only 40 percent of high schools offered computer programming courses in 2016, despite the explosive demand for web and software developers.
After noticing this in her experience as a teacher, Maurya Couvares launched ScriptEd, a coding program for high school students in low-income and historically underrepresented communities. The company aims to fill in the gaps in today’s education programs and provide technical and professional training that spans as long as three years — not just three months, like many coding bootcamps.
“We bring immersive, industry-aligned coding classes to under-resourced high schools, where we can reach young people just as they are beginning to explore career pathways,” said Couvares, the company’s CEO and co-founder. “By reaching students early and providing long-term support, we make a huge impact.”
According to Couvares, 73 percent of students who complete ScriptEd’s programs are on track for a career in tech, meaning they’re either majoring in computer science or currently have a job in the field. Of the 1,200 students enrolled in the programs throughout New York City, San Francisco and Oakland, 80 percent identify as Black or Latin, and 40 percent identify as female.
By reaching students early and providing long-term support, we make a huge impact.”
Over time, the program could help move the needle on diversity in tech and not just change the industry’s demographics but also the lives of everyone involved.
“Learning to code was more empowering for me than any other skill I had learned since school,” said Couvares. “ScriptEd was founded with the idea that we could change students’ lives by teaching them to code.”
The company currently has 250 volunteers and works with 36 high schools in NYC. Every summer, it works with companies around the city to place advanced students in paid five-week internships on their engineering teams.
“Some companies initially hesitate to hire high school students for engineering internships, but last summer, several companies extended offers to their interns to stay on past the internship period or invited them to come back this summer,” said Couvares. “We hope more companies will look at these stories and think twice about the impact and value that a high school student can bring to their team.”
