[Newark, New Jersey, December 11, 2019] On Thursday, December 12th beginning at 9:00AM, the Newark Board of Education, in partnership with Girls Who Code and NJIT, will host an inaugural “Girls Who Code Showcase” featuring over 300 sixth through tenth grade students from 25 of our schools at the New Jersey Institute of Technology Campus Center.
The event occurs during Computer Science Education Week (December 9 – 15) and will feature a coding-based project competition among students participating in after-school clubs. During the showcase, students will present their “Impact Projects” to the competition’s judges. Each club’s Impact Project was developed to solve problems in their local community, by applying coding knowledge and creative computational thinking to a range of product designs — from innovative phone apps to web sites and robotics.
The projects will be evaluated based on a rubric reviewing three core components: 1) Design and Aesthetics, 2) Purpose, and 3) Social Impact & Project Differentiation. First, second, and third place will be awarded to schools for each category as well as an overall first, second, and third place.
The showcase will include a recorded welcome message from First Lady Tammy Murphy and opening remarks from Superintendent of Schools Roger León, Senator M. Teresa Ruiz, and Assemblywoman Shavonda E. Sumter.
Additionally, distinguished representatives from Apple, Microsoft, Verizon, Panasonic, Prudential, NJIT, the Urban League of Essex County, William Paterson University, Montclair University, Kean University, Girls Who Code, and the Newark Board of Education will serve as volunteer judges to review the students’ projects.