In the heart of Silicon Valley, technology is synonymous with opportunity.
But students who can’t learn the fundamentals are often left behind, cutting them off from this field before they’ve even had a chance to try it. When Mountain View High School rising senior Ryan Tellado founded LatinXTech, he wanted to change that — so he went straight to the source of the problem.
LatinXTech is a nonprofit that aims to spread love for STEM education to elementary school students — primarily those in third through fifth grade — said Executive Vice Chair and Mountain View High rising senior Axel Edin.
The nonprofit focuses on schools that are underfunded or don’t emphasize STEM as a major area of learning. After researching those with Title I — high poverty — status, the organization reaches out to the respective schools to see if they’d be willing to host workshops.
Founded four months ago by Tellado, LatinXTech has led workshops at two schools in San Jose and Mountain View, with plans to expand and create chapters nationwide. So far, 13 chapters have been established across nine states, and will begin offering workshops in the fall to provide STEM education to over 1,000 kids.
Developing over 35 hours of introductory coding content through Scratch, Tellado said the organization hopes to create courses in medicine, robotics, 3D printing, and more, in the future.
Currently, the organization holds workshops around 4 pm. Groups of around 20 children spend a little over an hour learning the basics of computer science from LatinXTech mentors, Tellado said. The mentors, most of whom are Mountain View High students, cover topics ranging from positive and negative numbers, the coordinate plane and simple coding commands.
“In order to keep engagement, sitting down and lecturing isn’t a good method,” Edin said. “They really liked engaging with what they were learning. [We] personalize it, so that they resonate with what they’re learning and to help them become more motivated.”
Living in Silicon Valley, Edin said, it’s easy to become used to advanced technology and STEM education at a young age. That’s not true for everyone, though — a lack of access or education can prevent children from learning about what this field has to offer, Tellado said.
“When you’re a kid, you’re very malleable,” Edin said. “The things around you have a great impact on you. Hopefully, a lot of these kids can realize career paths that they hadn’t thought of before because the STEM field is a very big field. It’s constantly growing.”
The organization hopes to raise $50,000 in their first year through fundraising, donations or potential sponsorships by bigger technology companies. The money would fund the purchasing of computers and different tools LatinXTech could use in their workshops, Edin said.
Echoing Edin’s sentiment, Tellado said that it’s necessary to teach children these fundamental skills when they are young so they can use that information in the future. What is taught to them now will be with them throughout their lives, Edin said.
“It’s incredibly important that we support these kids and their aspirations, and give them everything they need to have a positive future,” Edin said. “Eventually, the kids of today will be the people who run the world of tomorrow.”
For more information, or to get involved with LatinXTech, visit latinxtech.info.
