Code Nation

Technology-related jobs are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying, while benefiting from low unemployment rates and high job security. Employment of software developers is projected to grow 22% in the next ten years, and their average salary was $110,140 in 2020 —more than double the median wage of all workers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). 

The implications of this on the shape of modern life are profound; people of color are institutionally excluded from the economic potential of tech and from the power the tech sector holds over nearly every corner of our society. Our work is not just about the future of work, but about who ultimately has power in our world.

While Code Nation will focus on the US, scaling a model like ours globally would position people in low opportunity circumstances to learn to code, get connected to industry mentors, and find jobs or relevant post-secondary pathways.

Technology-related jobs are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying, while benefiting from low unemployment rates and high job security. Employment of software developers is projected to grow 22% in the next ten years, and their average salary was $110,140 in 2020 —more than double the median wage of all workers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). According to a recent Gartner survey, 1M computing roles went unfilled in 2020. Despite this, Black and Latinx technologists represent just 3-5% of the tech workforce in major firms. 

We work in New York City, the Bay Area, and Chicago, and the conditions are similar - each local tech sector does not reflect the diversity of each city, and software developers are the least diverse high-tech industry. Further, high-tech is growing faster in these regions than most other jobs and are also heavily recruited in non-tech industries. 

Further, local education systems in the US continue to struggle to offer meaningful computer science, particularly in lower income communities. This reinforces these conditions because local youth of color are not following paths toward computer science degrees in college. There is staggering potential to solidify pathways to high-tech work for homegrown youth.

Code Nation was founded on the belief that anyone can learn to code, and that a career in computer programming is a profound way to transform the economic futures of youth and families. Given the stark inequity within the tech sector and the long term implications of this on our society, a robust pipeline of technical education and support is an urgent solution. 

Code Nation has designed and implemented a multi-year pipeline of sequenced programming for high school youth, which blends a rigorous and professional technical education with industry exposure and career readiness support. All programming is in partnership with tech companies and connects youth directly to mentors in the industry. Further, we partner with local college access programs and bootcamps to connect youth directly to their next step toward career. 

Students participate throughout the school year then level up the next year to more advanced programs that teach HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, how to utilize APIs, and more. We use a culturally responsive approach that honors youth culture and the realities of our students’ lives. Every ingredient of our programs has been sequenced to chip away at the barriers youth of color and those experiencing poverty face in pursuit of a tech career.

Code Nation serves 1,700 high school youth, ages 14-18, in NYC, Chicago, and the Bay Area. All school partners have a student population where at least 75% are eligible for free or reduced price lunch, a form of public assistance defined by federal standards. In the last school year, 77% of students were eligible for FRPL, 31% identified as Black, 49% identified as Latinx/Hispanic, and 43% identified as gender diverse. We serve a predominantly low income population who identify as people of color. Many of our students are also first generation or immigrants. Their schools do not offer meaningful computer science opportunities, and Code Nation fills that gap to provide an industry-relevant program that exposes students to the potential of and pathways to the innovation economy - and social, creative and economic power.

Students participate through school every week throughout the year and learn professional skills and make industry connections. All programs have been virtual since March 2020; we have provided students and schools with the necessary hardware to participate and developed a virtual curriculum to address the unique experience of remote learning. We have focused on community-building activities in the classroom and a project-based approach that positions youth to explore their passions and forge connections between coding and their lived experiences and identities. 

Code Nation has been working to prepare youth of color and those experiencing poverty for success in the digital economy for nine years. This includes both the direct technical skills and know-how that will serve them in career as well as the deep sense of problem-solving and critical thinking that will allow them to be nimble as the innovation economy evolves and expands. During the pandemic, we pivoted to an entirely remote model and will continue with this approach indefinitely. This is allowing us to expand the geographies and schools we partner with, to better reach students who live in such underserved communities that we have not been able to serve them in person in the past. This now includes schools that serve students who are overage and/or undercredited, often with life responsibilities that prevent them from participating in typical school. 

At Code Nation, students are part of a supportive community of peers and tech professionals and are ushered along a three-year program that prepares them to pursue a CS degree or bootcamp. In 2021, 98% of third year students said that Code Nation has prepared them for a career in coding. 83% of our alumni are pursuing a four year degree, 67% of whom are pursuing a STEM degree; 51% are pursuing a CS degree.

We offer a virtual program model to 1,700 high school students in institutionally underserved communities who represent the future digital workforce. They learn to code, connect with peers and industry professionals, are exposed to work environments virtually, gain exposure and understanding of digital careers, and are directly connected to and supported in pursuing next steps on their post-secondary path. Further, a key element of our approach is the engagement of employers - we partner with over 70 companies per year. Many of our students go on to get internships and part time jobs as they pursue their degrees. 

Code Nation was founded in 2012 and has thoughtfully refined and expanded this model to three regions and several cities and school districts since then. While each regional expansion reflects a geographical pilot, our overall approach is firmly in the scale stage. 

To address the intractable and oppressive conditions of our society, technology must be accompanied by ongoing, intentional and human-centered support. Code Nation offers a program that is at least three years and designed to launch the next generation of the tech workforce forward, centering populations that have been institutionally excluded. We ensure that our students have the hardware and connectivity to participate, while forging industry connections that provide the foundation for career. The tech sector is firmly racist and sexist, and engaging directly with employers positions us to influence internal practices that can help better recruit and retain staff of color in the long run. All company volunteers in our program must participate in mandatory racial equity trainings and trainings in trauma-informed practices and culturally responsive teaching. We are preparing a diverse cohort of youth for the future of work, while working to shift the industrial systems in the tech sector that continue to harm people/staff of color.

Students use Chromebooks and headphones to participate in the program; students use a sandbox called PopCode that can be accessed via the internet to learn how to code. PopCode was developed and is maintained by Code Nation volunteers. To ensure connectivity, we also provide hotspots to classrooms and individuals who need them. We deliver classes, virtual office hours, and virtual field trips using Zoom. We have used HackerRank, an assessment tool where users complete coding challenges; it is commonly used in hiring. 

The tools we use - Zoom and Chromebooks - are incredibly widely used. We can provide a demo of PopCode on request. 

HackerRank’s website: https://www.hackerrank.com/

We have found that while HackerRank is an effective assessment tool for hiring in the tech industry, it is not student-centered, and we plan to take another approach as we continue the program. In compliance with our partner school districts, there are firewalls on the Chromebooks to ensure that the students cannot access the full internet on their machines. The technology we use in general is widely used in many contexts and considered low risk. 

Our solution currently serves roughly 1,700 youth per year. We were on track to drastically increase our scope but the pandemic forced us to temper our plans and take a more cautious approach. In the last school year, we served 1,367 students; this school year, we plan to serve 1,600-1700 students, which is close to our pre-pandemic enrollment. Our current scope is still lower than normal, but we are confident that we are on track to solidify a virtual model that may position us to reach more students and geographies than ever before. In five years, we will have expanded to an additional region and expect to reach 4,000 students directly. 

Code Nation will implement it’s tiered program to students in NYC, the Bay Area and New York City this year, virtually. Within five years, we plan to continue growing in our existing regions while also expanding to at least one other region. We are prioritizing key focus areas this year:

• Improving upon our existing evaluation methodology to adopt a more student-centered approach that better meets students where they’re at. This will be accompanied by formalized training for program managers to cultivate an effective learning environment in the classroom. 

• Refine Code Nation programming and operations to be inclusive, anti-racist and pro-Black. We are partnering with equity consultants as part of this process, conducted an equity audit, and are in the process of planning and implementing these findings. 

• Bolster our alumni offerings by dramatically improving the data collection processes of our nearly 2,000 alumni (students who participated in at least two years of the program). This will include the launch of an Alumni Leadership Council who will play an important role in Code Nation strategy as well as a Career Launch Intensive job placement program for two cohorts of alumni per year. 

These strategic focus areas will improve our offerings and ensure that our students remain at the center of our work.

We set annual outcomes to assess how our students are progressing on their pipeline to career. Our assessments are reflective of best practices in education since our programs center students. This includes performance on projects using a skills rubric that assesses student skills and competences. We look at how students progress in their skills year over year and how they perform on coding challenges. We assess the number and depth of connections they are making in the tech sector, and use surveys to gather both student and volunteer input on their experiences and plans for the future. Annual outcomes typically reflect the following:

-70% of students demonstrate technical proficiency 

- 40% matriculation from Year 1 to Year 2; 60% matriculation from Year 2 to Year 3

- 60% of students report intentions to pursue a tech career

The long term metric we are working toward is that 60% of all Code Nation alumni are on track to a career in tech. 

For our key focus areas named above, each has a set of KPIs that have been agreed to by the executive team and will be assessed in real time.

FT: 39

PT: 3

Contractors: 3

Code Nation has been delivering programming to high school youth during and after the school day, leveraging technology, for nine years. We started in two schools in 2013 in NYC, reaching 35 students - we are now in three regions, six cities, and reaching over 40 schools. We have garnered the tremendous support of education professionals, the tech sector, and philanthropy to thoughtfully grow our community of advocates. Most importantly, we are meeting our goals for student progress and have created feedback loops with youth to ensure that we continue to serve their needs. Code Nation alumni are earning STEM and CS degrees and securing internships and jobs in high-tech. 

Code Nation has invested significantly in equity and has centered this in our priorities moving forward. This has included the hire of an Equity Director who oversees HR. Our leadership team is made up of one white woman, a Black woman, an Indigenous Latinx woman, and a white man. We have grown our team, centering equity, inclusion and belonging, and have a team as diverse as our student population. Students have commented on the fact that they feel safe with Code Nation staff, given how inclusive we are to LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and students of all intersecting identities, and and how vocal we are in support of the movement for Black lives. We have a detailed racial equity plan that outlines our goals that can be made available on request. These goals focus on inclusion, antiracism and pro-Blackness specifically. 

Code Nation is applying to this challenge as part of our efforts to gain visibility for our work and deepen partnerships with practitioners across the country and world whose innovative solutions can support our students and vice versa. We view this as a powerful opportunity to learn from and connect with others who are influencing equitable transformation in the digital economy. 

We provide a three-year pathway coding and professional training program to youth virtually. This includes the Intro to Web development and a two-year Coding Fellowship, buttressed by summer intensives that mirror professional work. Students learn advanced front-end coding, taught by volunteer tech professionals, who are supported and trained by Code Nation program staff who are educators. Students receive industry mentorship, and many accept internships at our partner companies while in high school. We focus on youth because it has been documented that software developers decided to pursue this career path while they were still in high school, influencing their college plans. We are providing this program to 1,700 youth in three regions this school year. 67% of all Code nation alumni - approximately 1,340 students - are now pursuing a tech career. 

We would welcome strategic advice and support for board development. Code Nation was founded in New York City in 2012 and since then has grown rapidly, expanding into the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago and now serves thousands of students each year. We have a committed National Board of Directors, many of whom have been with us for years and most of whom are based in New York. As we consider our next phase of growth, we aim to continue growing the National Board with a focus on finding more members in our two newer regions as well as establishing advisory councils in each region who can champion Code Nation at a local level. 

We would also welcome strategic advice and support for our branding/marketing strategy. Now that we are a national organization with 3 regions and exploring expansion to more new sites in the coming years, we need to invest in building our national brand and awareness. We are in the early stages of building our strategy and identifying the capacity and expertise we need to support these efforts.

We do not have specific organizations in mind and would welcome recommendations.