Pre-COVID I volunteered with Microsoft TEALS and worked in Cleveland at Promise Academy. TEALS is an amazing program, and we want to bring it to AKRON!!!!! (At the time, our startup was based in Tower City @ StartMart, so it was convenient because it was right next door!)
About Microsoft TEALS
Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) is a Microsoft Philanthropies program that builds sustainable CS programs in high schools. We focus on serving students excluded from learning CS because of race, gender, and geography. TEALS helps teachers learn to teach CS by pairing them with industry volunteers and proven curricula.
How TEALS Come to Cleveland
This expansion is the result of new partnerships with schools, businesses, government leaders and nonprofits. In Ohio, spurred in part by a 2014 Cleveland Foundation study that showed the need for 10,000 local information technology (IT) workers, the Cuyahoga County Executive and the Cleveland Foundation forged a partnership with Microsoft to bring TEALS to the state. The Cleveland Foundation provided a $185,000 grant and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Cleveland State University, and the Envision Excellence in STEM Education also played key roles in bringing the program to Ohio. Together, they will expand access to rigorous computer science courses across Cuyahoga County, and especially in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Pics from TEALS/Cleveland
About Kundalini Software
As some people may know, my wife and I have a Startup Company based in Akron @ Bounce Innovation Hub. Our startup develops software for STEM-based Music Education. (Ours is a novel synesthesia-based approach that teaches programming and music at the same time; we call it S.T.E.A.M.M.+ which means Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math, Music, plus Programming.)
After going through National Science Foundation’s ICORP program here at Bounce with the University of Akron Research Foundation, we subsequently received a small grant from the No Starch Press Foundation to turn our product into a Software as a Service (SAAS) so that we can make it available in the schools. (We can do that because of WebMIDI and the magic of modern web technologies, which will allow our Kundalini Piano to scale to the whole world, potentially!)
Our goal is to have it available for the coming school year, and our first goal school is Miller South For the Performing Arts, which was recommended to us during a software pitch to the Akron Urban League.
Bring Microsoft TEALS to Akron
As an additional goal [to working on getting our STEM Piano Education Platform into the schools], I am also trying to advocate to bring Microsoft TEALS to Akron! These two things (Music+Programming) go along together, so I am trying to emphasize the importance of bringing music and programming directly into our schools!!
My belief is that the TEALS program should come to Akron, and I will continue to work to bring it here to the best of my ability.
Therefore, if you are in a position to help make this happen, I would call on you to please do so.
Concerts
Please enjoy the following two impromptu piano performances that I did! I am going to start to play music like this to raise awareness for this cause. (I had the privilege of studying music privately here in Akron with the Greek-American concert pianist Nicholas Constantinidis.) I am more of a composer than a performer, but still: one does one’s best!!
I am very passionate to bring music and programming into our schools. That is why I will play a lot of concerts like this to raise awareness for this cause!
Conclusion
We want to look to the next generation, and to let the children lead. By giving them additional knowledge of computer science, music, and creativity, we are empowering them to do that!
Therefore, if you are in a position to help with this, please do so.
But in the meantime, at least enjoy the music above.
Resources
Thank you for reading; please have a nice day.