NJIT Joins Urban League of Essex County to Teach Kids How to Code

Written by: Julie Jacobs
Published: Thursday, January 11, 2018
Pre-college students working on computers.
PRESS RELEASE
Contact Information: Media Relations, mediarelations@njit.edu or 973-642-7042

Come Jan. 20, 2018, 20 middle school students from Sussex Avenue Renew School in Newark will begin a free program to learn basic coding language and hear from guest speakers about coding careers. The initiative, called Newark Kids Code, is a pilot partnership between New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the Urban League of Essex County.

The program also is a joint venture within the NJIT community, calling upon the resources of the Center for Pre-College Programs (CPCP), Ying Wu College of Computing (YWCC) and Albert Dorman Honors College. CPCP is coordinating the program, YWCC faculty is adapting the coding curriculum in conjunction with Sussex Avenue Renew administrators, and Honors College students are volunteering to teach the curriculum to the Sussex Avenue Renew students.

“This initiative is designed to give middle school students an opportunity to explore the world of coding with or without prior knowledge and skills,” said Jacqueline Cusack, Ed.D., CPCP’s executive director. “Students will be engaged in building a web page about themselves and designing a video game and music video, as well as learning how to use the internet and related tools in responsible ways.”

Newark Kids Code participants were selected by Sussex Avenue Renew School, and will meet at the school on nine Saturdays this year. The partnership’s plan is to roll out the program to other schools simultaneously, pending outcomes from the pilot effort.

“As the world races through the 21st century, it is important that our youth develop the problem-solving and computational thinking skills that will enable them to compete for their place in the future,” said Vivian Cox Fraser, president and CEO, Urban League of Essex County. “Newark Kids Code is designed to introduce technologically underrepresented youth to the exciting world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through coding. We are thrilled to partner with New Jersey Institute of Technology and Sussex Avenue Renew School to provide Newark’s future with this opportunity.” 

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is the greatest producer of technological talent and knowledge in New Jersey and is a nexus of innovation — a physical and intellectual focal point for innovative ideas, actions, and people. NJIT is the only public university in New Jersey and one of only 54 universities nationally to receive a five-star rating in Money’s annual best colleges list. The New York Times college ranking tool rates NJIT No. 1 nationally among all public universities when you prioritize high alumni earnings, economic mobility, and academic profile. Additionally, the Wall Street Journal ranks NJIT No. 26 nationally for alumni salaries, No. 30 for upward mobility and No. 50 for value. NJIT also is among the top 2% of universities for alumni earnings, according to PayScale.com, and is ranked No. 23 nationally by The Princeton Review as a Best Value College, in addition to being rated among the top 50 public national universities and top 100 overall by U.S. News & World Report. NJIT also is the only polytechnic university that is an R1 (highest level) Carnegie Classification research university and is designated both an Asian-American and Hispanic serving institution.