Shiloh High Seniors Start Coding Program for Elementary Students

Snellville, Georgia. It’s Cool to Code is the brainchild of Shiloh High School seniors Jaysen Banks, Robert Cranston, and Karis Johnson. The three young men are in their school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme, which focuses on academic rigor and students’ personal and ethical development. As a part of the IB diploma requirement, students are tasked with developing and executing a CAS (Creativity Activity & Service) project. Banks, Cranston, and Johnson turned their project into a 6-week long after-school program that provided coding skills and mentoring to fourth and fifth grade students at Centerville Elementary School, a Title-I school in the Shiloh cluster

Banks, Cranston, and Johnson wanted to offer the program to participants free of charge but knew it would be costly because the coding kits alone would cost more than $1,200. They also wanted to provide snacks on program days, t-shirts, and an end-of-program celebration for participants. The three gentlemen decided to implement a GoFundMe campaign with a $1,750 goal. Within days of launching the campaign, the high school seniors surpassed their goal generating $2,200 from 64 donors to execute “It’s Cool to Code” at Centerville Elementary School. Shiloh High School alum and Gwinnett County School board member Everton Blair was one of those donors.

“As a Shiloh graduate, an engineering undergraduate major and a former AP Calculus teacher, I was thrilled to support It's Cool to Code and the efforts to give back to our community in an outstanding way. Coding is an invaluable technical skill that I only gained access to learn in college,” shared Blair. “I am so proud of these Shiloh students who are expanding exposure and learning opportunities in the STEM field to our elementary students.”

After six weeks of two-hour Tuesday afternoon It’s Cool to Code sessions throughout March and April, participants grew in their knowledge of STEM careers, programmed their own games, and built rover cars that were operated via remote controls using code they had developed. They also demonstrated a new level of enthusiasm for learning.

“Isaiah would come home every Tuesday and tell me and show me what he’d learned in It’s Cool to Code. He was so excited about science and learning! This program has been great for him. I know it will set him up for future success,” shared a program parent.

Banks, Cranston, and Johnson affectionately referred to It’s Cool to Code participants as “our boys” during the April 18 It's Cool to Code awards banquet they organized for participants.

“We want our boys to understand that they can do anything, even outside of school and careers, if they put minds to it and persist,” said Johnson.

Banks shared that he and his co-founders wanted participants to be better prepared for the careers of the future as a result of their participation in the program.

Principal Bonita Banks was thrilled to learn that Jaysen, Robert, and Karis have plans to ensure the
continuation of It’s Cool to Code.

“We are going to train a group of our peers in the Technology Student Association, where we are all current members at Shiloh, to take over the program next year. We definitely want It’s Cool to Code to impact elementary school students in the Shiloh community for years to come,” shared Cranston.

The young men put in more than 100 hours planning and implementing the program and are putting in additional time and effort to ensure that the program benefits more elementary school students in the future.

“In an era when we see so many negative images of young people, particularly young men, in the media, Jaysen, Robert, and Karis are showing us the good our young people can do. We are proud of them and we know they will go on to achieve great success and continue being assets to their communities,” said Centerville Elementary School Assistant Principal Reginald Watkins.

All three It’s Cool to Code founders have been accepted to multiple colleges and universities and have received scholarship offers. While the young men have yet to confirm their final school selections, Duke University, Mercer University, and Morehouse College are at the top of their lists.

About It’s Cool to Code

It's Cool to Code is a program for elementary school children founded by three high school seniors: Karis Johnson, Robert Cranston, and Jaysen Banks. The program provides educational, hands-on learning opportunities in STEM and exposure to careers and positive role models. The goals of the program include:
▪ exposing elementary school students to coding and careers in coding
▪ increasing students’ knowledge of coding through training and hands-on opportunities
▪ empowering students to utilize their newly acquired coding skills to create their own game or
simulation

Follow It’s Cool to Code on Instagram @itscooltocode