Local Schools Teaming Up With Apple For Tech Careers
Columbia, CA – Two local schools are teaming up with Apple to give students hands-on experience in developing apps.
Using Apple’s Develop in Swift curriculum, Columbia College is working with Summerville High School and the Apple Education team to pilot a new summer camp opportunity for underserved rural high school students. The goal is to pique student interest in technology careers and learn more about pathways into the field.
A California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP) grant of $150,000 spread over three years through its “Guided Pathways Alignment Project” will provide selected students with hands-on experience in developing iOS applications for the Apple App Store. Students will also complete a half-unit guidance course for college and career readiness at the college.
“This is a major accomplishment for Columbia and Summerville to provide training and education opportunities never available here before,” said Columbia President Dr. Lena Tran. “Upon completion of the Apple App Camp, interested and motivated students will be exposed to the IT industry and will be encouraged to pursue careers in the field, with skills they can use to earn wages on par with Silicon Valley without having to leave the foothills.”
iPads will be provided to students to develop and design apps using Apple’s Swift coding language. College officials instruct that the base-level app development course is heavily focused on design with some beginning coding to give students a taste of the skills they will need, help them visualize how apps look and work, and give them an understanding of the steps needed for full app development. Additionally, an Apple Professional Learning Specialist will train faculty for two days and then kick off the camp with students for the first three days.
Tran and Summerville High School Principal Brett Christopher say they are encouraged by the program’s growth potential and want to share what they have learned with other rural areas. Christopher also expressed, “The goal is to use this as a starting point to continue to offer similar opportunities to more students in partnership with Columbia. The exciting part is that this is all driven by an assessment of our students’ needs and finding ways to give them opportunities that can set them up for success.”
For more information on the program, contact President Tran’s office at 209-588-5115.
