An Hour of Code at Amigos School

| MSNE Staff

Pariss Chandler stood at the front of a 7th Grade Math and Science class at Amigos Elementary School in Cambridge, MA. More than a decade before, she had sat in these very seats. She told the class how when she was in 7th grade, she wanted to be an actress.

Now, thanks to Resilient Coders, Pariss has a full-time position as a developer at a local company. Like most students at Resilient Coders, Pariss had no idea that coding could lead to a career for her. But once she learned the basic skills, she found herself looking for more.

“With coding, you can build something from nothing. You can think of big ideas that solve real problems,” Pariss told the class.

Pariss Chandler guides a student at Amigos K-8 through the Hour of Code.

She then played the intro to Microsoft’s latest Minecraft-based Hour of Code game, “Hero’s Journey.” The room was dark, but the students’ eyes started lighting up.

Hero’s Journey is one of many Hour of Code tutorials that Code.org provides to teach students programmatic thinking. By clicking and dragging movement blocks, students can learn basic computing logic, building the foundation for learning real coding languages. Microsoft hosts free Hour of Code sessions at local Microsoft Stores so all students who want to learn computer science can at no cost.

Computer Science education is more important than ever for kids. Almost 1 in 4 — or 23% — of jobs in MA involve CS skills. And 65% of children who enter primary school today will work in completely new jobs that don’t currently exist. We’re excited to help guide students onto new paths to help them find — and create — these new positions.

Pariss Chandler guides a student at Amigos K-8 through the Hour of Code.

As students played Hero’s Journey and explored computer science, Pariss joined Civic Engagement Manager Aimee Sprung in guiding them through the steps and showing them how easy it is to code.

Thank you to Principal Sarah Bartels-Marrero, Math & Science Teacher Ryan Civiello, and all of the kids we worked with for inspiring us last week! We can’t wait to see the brand new ideas you bring into this world.

Learn more about how Resilient Coders is empowering students like Pariss:

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