Knight Foundation backed tech training program CodeNow is expanding its reach in Florida to provide more free technology training to young people in the Miami and surrounding metro area. The nonprofit is currently accepting applications for its pilot program from Miami-area high school students who are interested in technology; training sessions will be held June 14, 15 and 28.
Launched in 2011, the program offers students a real-world view into a career in the tech industry with classes that cater to different levels of experience: beginner, intermediate and advanced. The core of the program involves in-person training supported by outside learning and technology study. CodeNow targets underrepresented groups in tech, including women, minorities and those from low-income neighborhoods, and aims to reduce traditional barriers to access.
In March of 2014 CodeNow completed the Y Combinator’s program as part of the startup accelerator’s first batch of nonprofits; through this experience CodeNow plans to grow and scale its model. Miami will be the first city to benefit from this expanded program, with added support from Knight Foundation.
The Knight Foundation says it is interested in helping to foster the growing IT and development sectors in Miami and this program will serve as another bridge in that effort.
In addition to Miami, CodeNow has programs in the Bay Area, New York, and Washington, D.C. More than 90 percent of CodeNow students receive a free or reduced lunch, and 45 percent of alumni are young women. After completing the program, 35 percent of graduating seniors have gone on to study computer science in college.
