By Rama K. Ramaswamy
According to a 2017 Gallup report, nationally, no group feels the impact of living through the current "digital age” more than high school students. According to educators such as Wellesley High School math and computer science teacher Dr. Robert Cohen, technological literacy falls under the category of "life skills”; in some ways, coding ability is the modern equivalent of literacy.
A few years ago, students in Dr. Cohen's class approached Wellesley STEM Expo and the Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF) with a proposal to fund the first student-run, free admission, low-stress day of coding for middle school and high school students.
The result was CreateAthon (now Wellesley Creates), and the rest is history.
As part of its mission, Wellesley Creates intends to give students who are interested in coding an opportunity to deepen or expand their interest. The program allows students to approach community problems using programming and increases opportunities for project-based learning.
According to co-chairs Nasim Sheikhi and Ethan Liss-Roy, Wellesley Creates student leaders, the event provides an environment in which participants can learn the basics of computer science and its greater societal implications. After participating in this event, students may discover a new passion for computer science and programming, which they can further pursue by participating in computer science classes at Wellesley Middle School and Wellesley High School.
According to Wellesley STEM Expo’s Katey Goehringer, a new goal of Wellesley Creates 2019 is to increase the diversity of event participants, regardless of gender, race or socio-economics. “Everyone deserves a chance to explore the increasingly significant field of computer science, and we believe that Wellesley Creates is an excellent way for kids to gain exposure,” remarked Goehringer.
“Each team of students competing in Wellesley Creates has a dedicated Wellesley high school student mentor to facilitate brainstorming, coding and presenting their mobile app designs,” added Wellesley STEM Expo’s Melissa Johannes. “This aspect of students guiding other students is really special. The team members are inspired by the possibilities of solving real-world problems through technology, while the mentors - many of whom also organize this entirely student-run event - gain valuable project management experience.”
For over thirty years, WEF has underwritten grants to educators that further innovation and excellence in Wellesley schools. With the loyal support of its donors and volunteers, over $2 million has been awarded in the last 10 years to sponsor programs and initiatives that inspire a love of learning.
“What’s wonderful about Wellesley Creates,” said WEF Co-President Victoria Ostler, “is that it brings together some of the key priorities of the Wellesley Public Schools that WEF has been supporting through our grants, such as STEM and 21st Century learning.”
This year's Wellesley Creates will be held on March 16 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Wellesley High School, where student mentors plan to "improve lives, one line of code at a time.” Students - even those with little or no computer science knowledge - who wish to participate in Wellesley Creates are welcome.
Individuals may register at: https://www.wellesleyeducationfoundation.org/wellesley-creates.
