Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft has joined community organisations Fechac and Fundación AXCEL (Funax), and government leaders, to expand the Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (Teals) programme to four high schools in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and 252 US high schools.
The Microsoft Philanthropies programme helps schools develop inclusive and sustainable computer science curricula and, this year, will expand into Mexico to reach 160 new students. According to Microsoft, the programme will expand over the next five years to 12 additional high schools with 480 students.
“The Teals expansion to Mexico marks an important step in our efforts to make computer science education accessible to high school students in the region, increasing the likelihood that they’ll continue to study technology and land meaningful, in-demand jobs that offer higher pay and career longevity,” said Omar Saucedo, Microsoft TechSpark regional manager based in Ciudad Juarez. “In collaboration with our partners across the border, we will help students, teachers, volunteers and communities play an important role in and benefit from our growing digital economy.”
To drive the cross-border expansion, Microsoft has partnered with Fechac, a citizens’ initiative in Chihuahua to promote education, health and social capital development projects, and Funax, which supports entrepreneurs to innovate, promote social development, and improve opportunities and quality of life in the region.
“Our mission is to democratise technological education,” said Lennys Sánchez, director of Funax. “Teals represents a key strategy to achieve our goals in Juarez.”
Teals pairs teachers with industry volunteers to teach computer science in more effective ways. The programme supports partner schools to create inclusive learning spaces, promote diversity in enrolment and develop strategies for inclusive instruction. It also focuses on serving those students excluded from computer science education due to race, gender or geography.