Pasadena High School’s App Academy students have seen the places their learning will take them this school year.
A four-year computer science pathway program made possible by a partnership between the Pasadena Educational Foundation and the Pasadena Unified School District, App Academy students learn computer science and computer programming. They use these skills to create websites, games, and more.
Each grade level of the academy has field trips that directly relate to their current curriculum. Upper level students have participated in real-world, collaborative engineering projects that highlight their skills and learning. It’s all a part of a purposeful and strategic approach to preparing the 172 academy students for future jobs in the computer science field.
Last week, App Academy seniors visited the different podcasting and media studios of Spotify offices in DTLA. Students engaged in small group discussions with Spotify employees and toured the recording studios and soundstages of the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service that reaches more than 602 million users worldwide. Recently juniors visited Caltech to hear talks on quantum computing, while sophomores visited the USC Institute for Creative Technologies to hear from creators of artificial intelligence. And soon freshmen are headed to the Grammy Museum for a workshop on music digital production.
Juniors and senior students also participated in a two-day “hackathon” led by App Academy teacher, Deborah Orret. A hackathon is a rapid and collaborative engineering project where participants build a working prototype of a computer application. Given fun but challenging parameters, hackathons offer a creative, team-building approach to improving skill sets.
Special thanks to Spotify, Caltech, and the University of Southern California for hosting our students! We’re excited to see the places our App Academy students will go.
Interested in App Academy? Learn more here.
By NC Inguanzo, Community Engagement Manager
