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LaunchCode Invest in The Future of Missouri’s Tech Talent

  • October 05, 2020

LaunchCode, a non-profit organization that works with businesses to set up apprenticeships in technology for talented people who lack the traditional IT credentials, has launched a new pilot program to expand its footprint to high schools in the St. Louis region.

LaunchCode, based in St. Louis, Missouri, established its LCHS Pilot Program in response House Bill 3, an education bill passed in 2018 by the Missouri General Assembly. The legislation set up a statewide science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career awareness program and established new curriculum requirements for computer science education.

“This legislation was an important step in the direction of preparing a workforce with skills that better align with the needs of our increasingly-digital workforce,” said Jeff Mazur, LaunchCode’s Executive Director. “The issue, however, is that there is a lack of accessible and affordable ways for schools to equip teachers with industry-relevant computer science curriculum. That’s where LaunchCode is stepping in.”

The workforce development program is designed to create and teach computer science curriculum to Missouri’s future workforce. The pilot involves working with six teachers, each from different St. Louis-area high schools, who received training from LaunchCode over the summer and began teaching the nonprofit’s curriculum at the start of the 2020-’21 school year.

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