For Schools
Empower your students to CODE THE FUTURE
Scalable curriculum, ongoing professional development, and one-stop shopping for materials and supplies
HER Academy’s K-12 curriculum centers the needs and interests of students who are often marginalized in computer science (CS) – children from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, children from rural or economically impoverished communities, children with neuro-diverse learning styles, and girls from all backgrounds. When we focus on students on the margins, those in the center thrive as well.
Alongside physical computing, algorithmic thinking, and programming, we prioritize students’ social and emotional learning. Emphasizing user experience, accessibility, and humanity-centered design, we teach teamwork, empathy, communication, social justice, equity, and critical thinking through computer science.
Empower your students to CODE THE FUTURE.
Scalable curriculum, ongoing professional development, and one-stop shopping for materials and supplies
HER Academy’s K-12 curriculum centers the needs and interests of students who are often marginalized in computer science (CS) – children from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, children from rural or economically impoverished communities, children with neuro-diverse learning styles, and girls from all backgrounds. When we focus on students on the margins, those in the center thrive as well.
Alongside physical computing, algorithmic thinking, and programming, we prioritize students’ social and emotional learning. Emphasizing user experience, accessibility, and humanity-centered design, we teach teamwork, empathy, communication, social justice, equity, and critical thinking through computer science.
Bring HER Academy to your school
"According to a 2018 report from Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX), girls' interest in STEM careers increases 16% during between 5th and 9th grades, but their confidence in their abilities in math and science declines 15% over the same period. That's almost the same amount! We need to empower girls, particularly girls of color, with confidence in their computer science abilities at a young age, so that as they get older, they continue to have faith in themselves as computer scientists. High school is too late. K-8 are the pivotal years."
HER Academy’s elementary school curriculum is currently available for custom implementation only. We expect to make the general license available in spring 2022. Email lenaATtheheracademy.org for more details.
Curriculum
Each course includes
- 3-4 project-based learning modules that allow students to pursue their interests while ensuring they meet the learning outcomes.
- Robust lesson and activity banks to reinforce concepts and challenge students.
- Flexibility to allow teachers to adapt the curriculum to any school schedule.
Professional development
Our comprehensive training and follow-up working sessions empower any teacher to become a computer scientist and to teach and adapt our curriculum to their students’ needs.
Our teachers also receive ongoing support from peers and HER Academy coaches throughout the school year.
Materials and costs
- Cost per student includes curriculum license, teacher professional development, and materials. It varies by implementation. Cost will not be a barrier for any school.
Curriculum for Grades 6-12
Information Design
In this class, students will work together to solve problems through the design process. They will conduct user research on a problem faced by their school. They will analyze and present their findings in creative ways, paying attention to design as a tool for effective communication. The teacher will deliver short lessons, present students with various challenges, and coach students through breaking the problems down, coming up with and implementing solutions, and adjusting their approach as needed. Students will complete a progressive series of block-based coding projects framed around their interests and passions. Completing these projects will instill programming concepts as a foundation for text-based programming in future classes.
Web Development
In this class, students will rely on documentation to figure out how to code and style a webpage using HTML and CSS and how to make webpages interactive using JavaScript. The teacher will serve as guide and coach, delivering short lessons or engaging students in activities to further students’ big picture understanding of what they are doing. Students will also practice encryption and other digital security techniques and work in small groups to research how their data is used commercially. As a final project, students will turn the classroom (or another space) into an escape room modeled on network security measures and invite another class to play.
Web App Development
This curiosity-driven class allows students who have some previous computer science experience and those who are completely new to the subject to work on the same projects. Web Development is recommended but not required as a prerequisite. They will deepen their understanding of web development (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) at their respective levels. Relying on documentation, students will work their way through a series of projects, beginning with a multi-page website. The teacher serves as guide and coach. Students will use professional-level software to design and prototype websites and web applications, paying special attention to issues of bias and accessibility in the design process. As a final project, students will program a web-based application to access public data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Interested in a custom program?
In addition to our curriculum designed for general implementation, HER Academy offers customizable options for schools with unique needs. Whether you want to develop and implement an elite program, integrate computer science across your curriculum, or specialize in serving a specific neuro-diverse learning style, we're here to partner with you.