Boston, MA , Dec. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  The Scratch Foundation, a global non-profit dedicated to providing young people with digital tools and opportunities to imagine, create, share, and learn about the world of technology and coding, is now considering applications for the third cohort of the Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC). The SEC is an international network of education partners committed to bringing creative learning and coding opportunities to historically underserved populations. The collective’s focus is sharing knowledge and resources to create self-sustaining coding communities that can learn from and build on the discoveries of other SEC members around the globe. 

With 58% of U.S. students in grades 6-8 reporting that coding’s primary benefit is helping them develop creative skills, community collaborations like the SEC may be among the very best ways to nurture creative learning on a global scale. The SEC launched in 2020, funded in part by a five million dollar grant from Google.org. The second cohort comprised 88 organizations, an increase of more than 100% from the first cohort, is a testament to the power of the initiative.

“This project has been a triumph from the beginning,” said Shanika Hope, Director of Google’s Education for Social Impact team. “We believe that with every new increment of access to computer science education and tools, we unleash new creativity and move toward solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.”

The SEC’s engagement with cohort participants is supported by longtime Scratch partners, including the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Stanford d. School, that have been tackling the challenge of reducing inequity in U.S. computer science education for several years now. 

The SEC has also grown globally thanks to support from funders like the LEGO Foundation. With its two cohorts, the SEC is now present in 23 countries, with its third cohort hoping to increase its global reach even more.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this group,” said LEGO Foundation Vice President, Inclusion and Playful Learning, Judy Diers. “Creative coding education should not be a privilege – it should be available to all. The benefits of the SEC for students throughout the world are clear. We know that playful approaches like the ones that Scratch champion make a concrete difference in children’s learning. The ability to create coding projects that are meaningful and actively engaging leads to higher motivation for both learners and educators. As a partner, we’re excited to see what this next cohort will bring.”

Current participants such as Code Crew, for example, an organization that offers computer science literacy programs to underserved students in Memphis, TN, have been praised for their positive impact on the nation’s communities. So far, Code Crew has taught over 2,000 students to code through summer camps and after-school programs.

Abroad, meanwhile, some SEC members like Quest Alliance have set goals related to developing and scaling support for learners. The Indian nonprofit has been a leader in creating pathways for the country’s students, many of whom enter the workforce without formal training, to teach themselves and drive economic and social progress. Membership in the SEC augments Quest Alliance’s ability to solve these entrenched problems by providing a combination of theoretical models and tangible materials. 

“This next cohort of the Scratch Education Collaborative has the chance to continue making tremendous progress in the mission to promote creative learning and coding,” said Scratch Education Collaborative Director Elaine Atherton. “We are so grateful to all the partners who will work with us to awaken dormant potential in, and give a voice to, thousands of brilliant students all around the world.” 

Learn more about eligibility requirements and the application process here. Nonprofit and education leaders may apply to join the SEC’s third cohort here. Applications remain open until the end of February 2023.

About the Scratch Foundation

The Scratch Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to providing young people with digital tools and opportunities to imagine, create, share, and learn about the world of technology and coding. Through innovation and collaboration, the Scratch Foundation spreads creative, caring, collaborative, equitable approaches to coding and learning around the world. Scratch is a free website, app, interactive coding platform, and global online community that was developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab in 2003. The platform provides millions of young people from all backgrounds with the opportunity to develop their voices and express themselves by creating their own stories, games, and animations. The Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC) is an initiative that supports and engages participating organizations from around the world in a two-year, collaborative cohort experience to strengthen their organization’s commitment to, and implementation of, equitable creative computing.

About Google.org
Google.org, Google’s philanthropy, brings the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges combining funding, innovation, and technical expertise to support underserved communities and provide opportunity for everyone. We engage nonprofits and social enterprises who make a significant impact on the communities they represent, and whose work has the potential to produce meaningful change. We want a better world, faster — and we believe in leveraging technology and applying scalable data-driven innovation to move the needle.

About LEGO Foundation
The LEGO Foundation shares the mission of the LEGO Group: to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. The Foundation, which owns 25% of the LEGO Group, is dedicated to building a future in which learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. It is through the ownership model, that a portion of profits go to funding research projects, activities and partnerships. In 2021 for example, the LEGO Foundation provided grants of DKK 2.8 billion (USD 443.9 million) to initiatives which help children reach their full potential through play. The LEGO Foundation works in collaboration with thought leaders, influencers, educators and parents aiming to re-define play, re-imagine learning and equip, inspire and activate champions for play. www.learningthroughplay.com