JUAREZ, Mexico, Sept. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
Microsoft Corp. joined FECHAC, FUNAX, and community and
government leaders to announce the expansion of the Technology
Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program to four high
schools in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico,
and 252 U.S. high schools across six net new cities and expanded
reach in 12 cities. This is the largest program expansion into new
cities and regions since TEALS was founded 12 years ago in 2009,
and it's also the first time the current English language
curriculum will be translated into Spanish through partnerships
with curriculum providers such as Carnegie
Mellon University.
Starting this 2021-2022 school year, TEALS, a Microsoft
Philanthropies program that helps high schools develop and grow
inclusive and sustainable computer science programs, will operate
in four Ciudad Juarez high schools
and reach approximately 160 students. Over the next five years, the
program will expand to 12 additional high schools with 480
students, 12 teachers and 24 volunteers.
"The TEALS expansion to Mexico
marks an important step in our efforts to make computer science
education accessible to high school students in the region,
increasing the likelihood that they'll continue to study technology
and land meaningful, in-demand jobs that offer higher pay and
career longevity," said Omar
Saucedo, Microsoft TechSpark regional manager based in
Ciudad Juarez. "In collaboration
with our partners across the border, we will help students,
teachers, volunteers and communities play an important role in and
benefit from our growing digital economy."
To help make this cross-border expansion possible, Microsoft is
partnering with FECHAC, a citizens' initiative in the state of Chihuahua to promote education,
health and social capital development projects across civil
organizations and public institutions, and Fundación AXCEL A.C.
(FUNAX), a program that empowers the entrepreneurial community to
innovate, promote social development, and improve opportunities and
quality of life in the region.
"It is key that our youth have training opportunities like TEALS
to secure better future job opportunities," said Gil Cueva, FECHAC Juarez president.
TEALS builds the capacity of teachers by pairing a tech industry
volunteer with participating high school teachers to team-teach
computer science. Volunteers support the teachers as they learn to
teach computer science independently over time using proven
curricula. TEALS also provides partner schools with strategies
and resources to help increase equity, including creating
inclusive learning spaces, promoting diversity in enrollment, and
developing strategies for inclusive instruction.
"Our mission is to democratize technological education," said
Lennys Sánchez, FUNAX director. "TEALS represents a key strategy to
achieve our goals in Juarez."
As part of Microsoft's racial equity and justice efforts
announced in June 2020, 18 U.S.
metropolitan areas with high populations of Black and African
American students will offer computer science education through
TEALS at 252 high schools, including in Atlanta; Birmingham,
Ala.; Buffalo, N.Y.;
Charleston, S.C.; Chicago; Dallas; Detroit; Houston; Jackson,
Miss.; Jacksonville, Fla.;
Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Miami; Montgomery,
Ala.; New Orleans;
New York (all five boroughs);
Rochester, N.Y.; Selma, Ala.; St.
Louis; and Washington.
TEALS focuses on serving students excluded from learning
computer science because of race, gender or geography. Microsoft is
committed to enhancing the program each year and supporting the
teachers, volunteers and partners who make the ability to reach and
help students learn possible. With its track record of sustained
progress, TEALS is now one of the most established computer science
education programs in North
America.
TEALS has offered a hybrid model of remote teaching options
since the program was started in which rural communities have the
option of tapping volunteers who are based in regions outside their
reach. With the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on in-person learning,
TEALS offers virtual classroom options where volunteers participate
remotely using video conferencing and other interactive features.
During the 2021-2022 school year, about 1,300 remote volunteers
will help team-teach students.
Additional facts about computer science education and the
TEALS program:
- Today, 58% of all new STEM-related jobs are in computing, but
just 10% of STEM graduates are in computer science. TEALS aims to
help address this gap.
- According to Code.org, an organization that Microsoft partners
with, 90% of parents want their child to study computer science,
but just 47% of high schools teach it.
- It's estimated there are currently 400,000 computing job
openings, with roles available in every state. This demand is
expected to grow at twice the rate of all other jobs.
- TEALS operates in 31 states; Washington, D.C.; British Columbia, Canada; and now Juarez, Mexico. The program is composed of
over 1,650 volunteers from over 700 companies and serves 17,000
students. Since its founding in 2009, TEALS has served over 93,000
students.
- As of the 2020-2021 school year, approximately 29% of TEALS
students self-identified as Hispanic or Latinx, 12% self-identified
as Black or African American, and 29% self-identified as female.
Microsoft aims to work with partners and participating schools to
continue improving the diversity of students enrolled in TEALS
computer science education programs.
- Nearly 1 in 5 schools participating in TEALS are in rural
communities.
- According to the 2019-2020 end-of-year student survey, 58% of
TEALS students report planning to study computer science in
college, and 76% say they feel that they can succeed in
future computer science classes. TEALS students also
scored 8% higher than the national average on the 2018 AP Computer
Science A exam.
About FECHAC
FECHAC´s mission is to create better opportunities for social
and human development of Chihuahua's people.
https://fechac.org.mx/
About FUNAX
Our main goal is to develop projects that contribute to
democratize knowledge to create equal opportunities to all citizens
in the Juarez region.
https://www.funax.org/
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.