More than two dozen students from Millwood Public Schools and eight women in the ReMerge diversion program graduated in 2021 from computer programming classes offered by New Mexico-based Cultivating Coders.

Cultivating Coders is a nonprofit that works with mostly minority and lower-income students to teach them computer coding, a highly desirable skill in today’s business world. The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber provided financial support to Cultivating Coders in 2020 to help get the program launched in Oklahoma City.

Chamber officials said they were excited to see the program expand to include a partnership with ReMerge, a program that helps provide mothers battling cycles of addiction, poverty and incarceration with a pathway to become more successful members of the community. While in the 12-week-long class, the students learned various platforms needed to perform web development and coding skills.

“We have gone through three classes – two with Millwood Schools and now one with ReMerge – 35-40 students graduated from the program at Millwood as well as the eight ladies at ReMerge,” said Jeff Seymour, executive vice president of economic development at the Chamber, adding the Inasmuch Foundation has also played a key role in supporting Cultivating Coders in OKC.

Seymour said just from the sheer success of the Millwood classes since 2020 and the recent ReMerge class that finished in November 2021, it is evident the Chamber’s decision to partner with Cultivating Coders almost two years ago was the right move.

“[The program’s success] validates that we were part of the right thing. We started the fire and other folks kind of poured gasoline on it and said, ‘Oh, this is actually beneficial for students in Oklahoma City and especially minority students.’” Seymour said there were approximately 100 people who attended the graduation at ReMerge last November for the eight ladies who completed the computer programming class.

The program’s success at Millwood Schools and ReMerge has led the Chamber into looking to support the program’s continued expansion in the region. Officials are hopeful that more partnerships can be forged soon to help even more students achieve their academic and career goals.

“The kids, as well as the adults, love the program. It opens a new paradigm for them as far as what they think is possible,” Seymour said. “A lot of them are not sure about secondary education, and this not only gets them thinking about that, but also gets them thinking in terms of employability and jobs instead of just going to school to go to school.”

Computer coding is a highly sought skill. Software developer positions are expected to increase 21% by 2028, according to recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor. There are nearly 630,000 jobs open for computing right now, according to Code.org. Just 23 states have adopted policies giving all high school students access to computer science courses, and of those, 11 give all K-12 students access. Oklahoma adopted K-12 computer science standards in 2020. More than 71,000 computer science students graduated into the workforce last year.

This story was originally published in the January 2022 edition of the VeloCity Newsletter.