YouthBuild Charter School of California Hosts WebSlam at L.A. Trade Tech College

LOS ANGELES, April 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- On Saturday, April 12^th, YouthBuild Charter School of California, in collaboration with URBAN TxT and sponsored by Colocation America, will host a student WebSlam at Los Angeles Trade Tech College. During the week leading up to the event, URBAN TxT, a Los Angeles-based program that teaches at-risk young people of color how to build iPhone apps and other open-source technologies, will lead intensive, day-long classes in HTML coding for twenty YouthBuild Charter School of California students from South L.A. and Long Beach. The twenty students will showcase their coding skills at the WebSlam on Saturday, where they will work in teams of five with mentors from local technology and web design companies to build an entire business website for a local client in just one day. A panel of industry leaders, YouthBuild Charter School teachers, and members of URBAN TxT will judge the students' websites, and prizes will be given out for best website design at the end of the night. The event is open to the public at LA Trade Tech's Aspen Hall TE 101 from 8:00am to 8:00pm on Saturday.

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"WebSlam is an amazing opportunity for Colocation America to aid new businesses in Los Angeles and to teach the fundamentals of coding to this next generation of professionals," said Samantha Walters, Vice President of Online Strategies for Colocation America. "We are excited to be working with URBAN TxT and YouthBuild Charter School of California to help these young people learn HTML coding skills, so they can build pathways into college and careers in computer science and web design."

YouthBuild Charter School of California hopes that the WebSlam will be a great opportunity for these young people to explore technology through HTML coding and recognize that web design and computer science careers are well within their reach.

"Teaching students how to code will help increase math and critical thinking skills and open the door to technology-related jobs," said Nadia Despenza, YouthBuild Charter School of California's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Coordinator. "And that, will ultimately serve as a pathway out of poverty for many of these talented young people."

About YouthBuild Charter School of California

YouthBuild Charter School of California (YCSC) provides education at 18 YouthBuild USA sites across California. YCSC guides young people who have been pushed out of high school to re-engage and graduate high school. They use a different approach to learning, in which students participate in research, analysis and community action projects. They are successful: 85% of students who commit to the program for 1.5 years graduate high school and either enter the workforce or go to college. To learn more, visit the website: www.youthbuildcharter.org.

Media Contact: Emily Suttmeier, Youth Build Charter School of California, 213-741-2600 x206, [email protected]

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SOURCE Youth Build Charter School of California