Chicago Schools and Colleges to Deliver Coding Ed to 500K Students

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 01/19/18

The city of Chicago wants to introduce its students to coding by expanding its use of Apple's "Everyone Can Code" program in K-12 and community colleges. A collaboration with the Mayor's Office, Chicago Public Schools, City Colleges of Chicago and local businesses and non-profit organizations will help introduce almost 500,000 young people to coding beginning this year. Those students will learn how to work with Swift, a programing language developed by Apple that has been used to create apps for Airbnb, KAYAK, TripAdvisor and Yelp.

Starting this spring, schools will use Apple-created curriculum and materials. That includes the launch of "App Development with Swift" courses at the colleges, to help students gain skills in programming and app development.

At the K-12 level, the schools will launch Swift coding clubs in after-school programs. Those are intended to introduce students to the basics of coding and Swift and walk them through an app design and prototyping project.

Volunteers from Apple and locally based businesses, including GE Transportation, IBM, Jellyvision, Lextech, McDonald's, Rush University Medical Center, Ulta Beauty and United Airlines, will support the students.

"Everyone Can Code gives students opportunities to learn new skills and develop a strong foundation in STEM to prepare them for a successful future in the 21st-century economy," said Janice Jackson, acting chief executive officer at Chicago Public Schools, in a prepared statement. "This initiative introduces coding curriculum that develops core skills, creativity, collaboration and problem solving, which will help lay the groundwork for a successful future."