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Shelley Charlton is a business and computer science (CS) teacher at Chelan High School in rural Washington State. She never imagined she could teach a STEM subject, but two years ago she started instructing CS with the support of TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools), the Microsoft Philanthropies-run initiative to ensure CS is taught in every high school in the U.S. The TEALS program was a good match for Shelley and her small school because volunteers, who assist teachers and help instruct students, are equipped to videoconference into the class. TEALS matches teachers new to CS with industry volunteers, who work at nearly 700 companies nationwide. By training the teacher, TEALS creates sustainable CS programs across the country.

One night at the kitchen table a few years back, my oldest son asked me for homework help—a pretty typical family scene, right? But when I took a look at his assignment, I realized I had no idea how to help him. He was taking computer science at his high school, and I had zero knowledge of this subject that experts call as crucial as reading, writing and math.

In fact, the principal at the high school where I teach business education had asked me to learn how to teach computer science several times before, but I always said no. After all, I have three teenage sons and plenty on my plate already. I thought I had no time to go back to school and learn a new subject from scratch.

But that night when I was powerless to help my son, I began to question my resistance. I later sat in on his computer science class, which was taught by a teacher trained by TEALS. She hadn’t had previous CS experience, either, and I was impressed. She sure seemed like she knew what she was doing!

So I decided to jump in with the support of TEALS. Ultimately, I wanted to give my students at Chelan High School the best opportunities I possibly could. I didn’t want their future to be limited just because they grew up in a rural town—or because I was nervous about trying something new.

Teaching CS has been a huge learning curve for me. I did TEALS trainings before I started teaching, which helped. My sons also sat next to me as I tried out assignments, and they guided me when I got stuck. Finally, having industry volunteers conference call into my class was what made me feel like I could become a CS teacher.

To set up your students for success in CS, you have to make them feel like they can try, and fail, and try again—but ultimately figure out the answer. The TEALS curriculum and use of volunteers, whether in-person or online, provides enough support that they get the encouragement they need to create imaginative, inventive and totally unique projects.

I wasn’t shy about not being an expert. I told my students, “I’m learning alongside you. I don’t always have the answers, but we can figure it out together.”

And honestly, they teach me as much as I teach them! I see what they create and I think oh my gosh, how did you do that? Then they show me, and I’m able to incorporate that tidbit of knowledge into future classes. They encourage me, too. They egg me on to be more creative and to challenge myself. They motivate me to keep learning and keep trying because I have to keep up with them!

I would never have learned to teach CS without TEALS. This program is a safe, easy way to learn a new subject, and it comes with all the built-in support I need as a teacher.

Thanks to TEALS, the hard work of our other STEM teachers and the time of volunteers, we’ve grown the beginnings of a solid computer science program in our little town. I think about my sons, and their friends, and all my students who now have a wider perspective on what’s possible for them. Not everyone leaves my class wanting to be a programmer or software engineer, and that’s ok. But they all leave with a better understanding of a skill that’s fundamental to just about every job out there today.

I also see some students who want more—who get a taste of CS and run with it. I see that they’re inspired by what they’ve learned in my class and can’t wait to see what they do next. That’s what teaching is for—that’s why I do this.

To learn how you can be a change-maker like Shelley and bring CS to your school, visit our Schools page.

Nancy Reid is a computer science (CS) teacher at Lincoln High School in San Jose, California. Although she had a background in math and engineering, she had never taught CS before—until she was trained by TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools), the Microsoft Philanthropies-run initiative to ensure CS is taught in every high school in the U.S. Nancy sees CS education as an issue of equality: Roughly 85 percent of students at Lincoln are Latino and other underrepresented groups in tech, yet only 38 percent of college CS majors were non-white in 2015-16. By training teachers like Nancy, TEALS is creating sustainable CS programs across the country—and helping narrow the diversity gap in the technology field.

I know the transformational power of STEM firsthand. When I was growing up, I loved math, but I didn’t really know what to do with it. My dad was a trucker and my mom was a cannery worker before staying at home with us kids—they didn’t have the resources to guide me. But I won a scholarship to study math and science in college, and after I graduated, I worked as an engineer in the tech field.

I later took time off to stay at home with my children, and when they got older, I wanted to change careers and become a teacher. I wanted to provide some of the guidance to young people that totally changed the trajectory of my own life.

When I looked around my community in San Jose, I saw we were in the midst of Silicon Valley—home to some of the most powerful and influential tech companies on the globe. Yet most of the students at Lincoln High, a good school filled with dedicated young people who also happen to be on the low end of the socioeconomic spectrum, didn’t have a way to get their foot in the door. At the same time, this region is becoming more expensive, and families are becoming priced out of their community.

On the other hand, companies here in Silicon Valley are hungry not only for people to fill an increasing number of openings that require computer science skills, they’re desperate for diversity. Computing jobs are the number one source of new wages in the U.S., which means a lot for my students, many of whom come from families that struggle to meet their basic needs. I thought to myself, why can’t we home-grow young people who have the skills, confidence and leadership to compete for those well paying and challenging jobs?

So in addition to transitioning from being a stay-at-home mom to a teacher, I also began to learn to teach computer science through TEALS. The challenge was made less daunting because of the deep resources TEALS offers to teachers new to CS: I went through a free training program the initiative offered, I used already developed curriculum so I didn’t have to craft my own from the ground-up, and I relied on industry professionals to volunteer in my classroom and teach me the finer points of CS.

I’m now in my fifth year of teaching CS with TEALS. I teach both introductory and AP courses for more than 100 students each year. Industry volunteers from nearby tech companies still come into my classes to answer student questions (and give these young people role models to look up to).

I continue to learn, too: Not long ago, another teacher taught me to code for virtual reality so I could pass on that knowledge to my students, who ended up competing in a VR challenge. I also encouraged some students to try out cybersecurity, and they tested themselves against other high schoolers in a statewide competition. Several of my students have interned at LinkedIn, and I recently took ten young people to Washington, DC to meet with senators, representatives and their staff to lobby for CS education.

What do all of these opportunities have in common? The chance to become leaders.

To compete for the best jobs, and to help make their community an even stronger place, our young people need to step up. First, though, we have to help them gain the confidence to believe they have something worth saying, then offer them the opportunity to lead.

Young people their own best advocates. They encourage their friends to sign up for CS classes. They bring their younger siblings to robotics club. They share stories of how their lives are changed because of the skills they learn in CS.

The next generation is inheriting a whole world of challenges—and opportunities. It’s time we equip them with the skills and confidence to tackle them. Computer science is my way of helping my students become the leaders I know they can be.

The U.S. needs 10,000 additional education leaders to teach CS. Will you become one of them? We can help – just visit our Schools page to learn more.

Matt Charlton is superintendent of Manson School District in rural Washington State. With his support, Manson High School introduced computer science (CS) education for the first time with TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools), the Microsoft Philanthropies-supported initiative to ensure CS is taught in every high school in the U.S. TEALS matches teachers new to CS with industry volunteers, who support teachers and help instruct students either in-person or remotely. By training the teacher, TEALS creates sustainable CS programs across the country.

At Manson High School—and any high school—our job is to not only think about what happens within the walls of our building; as educators, we need to prepare students for life after graduation. And we want to expand students’ ideas of what’s possible for them and their families.

You see, Manson is a community of roughly 1,500 people in north-central Washington, and most of our families work in agriculture. Many of my students’ parents didn’t graduate high school, and students sometimes finished school without a clear idea of what was next. They ended up working in our community’s apple orchards or vineyards by default, not because that’s what they were passionate about.

So we doubled down on our philosophy to help kids not only learn in school, but to try out skills and trades, to experiment in a supportive environment, and to discover their passions. Computer science has been an enormous part of that push.

Five years ago we realized that jobs requiring computer science knowledge were booming, and at the same time, we learned about TEALS. It was an ideal fit for a rural community like Manson.

Expanding curriculum is difficult in a small school in a small district like ours, and finding qualified teachers in STEM is especially challenging. But with TEALS, we didn’t need a teacher to already be an expert. Our teacher—who had never tried computer science before—learned alongside students. Professionals from tech companies volunteered by videoconferencing in every day, allowing our teacher to become comfortable with a new subject without feeling pressured to know everything.

What’s more, the TEALS model introduces students not only to a new topic but also role models. In our little town, kids probably haven’t met many software engineers or data scientists, and TEALS volunteers show them careers they wouldn’t have considered otherwise. It means the world to our young people to know successful experts in the tech industry believe in them.

We saw success with TEALS from the get-go, but only 10 or 15 percent of our student body was taking the class. We realized that computer science is a fundamental skill every young person needs to grow to their full potential, so this year we made computer science a required class for every freshman. Our computer science teacher has become so comfortable with and excited about CS that we’re planning to offer AP CS next year for the first time.

Even if you and your teachers are starting from scratch, the support you receive from TEALS makes introducing computer science education doable for every school. If you want to give your students all the opportunities they deserve—regardless of where in the country they live—computer science is critical.

The students at Manson are motivated and dream of being successful not only for themselves but for their families as well. When they consider their future now, they’re doing so with thousands more opportunities that their parents never had, thanks to our TEALS CS classes. I am so proud to be a part of that.

To learn how you can bring computer science to your school, visit our Schools page.

A recent morning in Seattle began with rain—typical—but something much more unusual was happening in a school in Seattle’s University District. High schoolers leaned over the desks of middle school students, offering suggestions and encouragement as their younger peers blasted zombies and guided R2-D2 around obstacles. Rather than just playing video games, though, the teens were controlling the characters by writing instructions for them to follow.

“What I like about coding is it’s about creating something, whatever you want,” says Piper Colquitt, a student in the 7-8th grade class at the Academy for Precision Learning (APL), an inclusive school geared toward teaching students impacted by autism. “It’s your world so you can create it however you want. People don’t tell you what you can or can’t do.”

For Piper and her classmates who all have learning disabilities, bumping up against adults’ (and society’s) expectations can be a daily frustration. The difficulty translates into discouraging statistics: In the two years after high school, two-thirds of young people on the autism spectrum are unemployed and have no educational plans, according to a 2015 study. But many of these Seattle students have discovered that computer science is a natural complement to their skills and enthusiasm thanks to TEALS, the grassroots Microsoft Philanthropies-supported initiative that brings computer science (CS) education to schools nationwide. In their daily TEALS class, APL students are finding that creativity through technology offers freedom, fun and opportunities for a successful future.

Teens try out computer science

Piper and the other students in her class were led through coding tutorials by high schoolers and volunteer teachers from the school’s TEALS class. TEALS seeds CS programs in schools by matching technology professionals from over 400 companies with high school teachers. Over the course of a few years, volunteers not only instruct students on rigorous CS curricula and share insights about their own careers, but also train teachers to take over the class—thereby creating sustainable computer science programs for the school to continue independently.

The high schoolers were eager to show off the CS skills they’d learned in their TEALS class at APL, the first school of its kind to incorporate the program. They roamed the class, offering advice when the middle schoolers seemed stuck and appreciation when the succeeded. (“Woah, how’d you do that fire?” one student marveled.)

“My students absolutely loved the chance to go to the middle school classes and share the skills they have,” says Navya Prakash, a software development engineer at Amazon and a volunteer in the APL TEALS class. By pairing technology professionals like Prakash with a teacher, TEALS introduces students to adults working in the computer science field—many of whom end up being role models of what they, too, can achieve. “Putting students in a mentor role helped bring some of them out of their shell and even inspired them to continue on the computer science track.”

Students with autism discover CS career path

The morning that combined the TEALS and middle school classes was part of Hour of Code, a nationwide effort that introduces students to computer science. In addition to learning about programming from their peers, students came face to face with someone who proves a computer science career might be a possibility for them—autism and all. Katherine Hart, an engineer who joined Microsoft through a program that hires professionals on the autism spectrum, told the teens how she now works for one of the world’s leading technology companies. She got there not in spite of, but partly because of, her diagnosis.

“Helping teach kids with my disability enables me to give more toward kids who are not as fortunate as I was,” explains Hart, who first learned programming at 25 through online classes. “Today is a really good opportunity for them to start coding. The ability to code has become as much a necessity as reading, writing and typing.”

Roughly 80 percent of adults impacted by autism are unemployed, and Hart knows firsthand that computer science skills can offer unique opportunities. While she was between jobs, she took programming classes to develop her own skills—and pursue a passion she found in her 20s. “I really like being an inspiration,” Hart adds. “I didn’t have anyone like that to look up to.”

CS offers freedom, room to play

Prakash, the volunteer from Amazon, believes that many of the students in her high school computer science class wouldn’t have had the opportunity to dive into programming without the TEALS class. As she watches them thrive, reveling in their “aha!” moments when a coding concept clicks, she sees their “disability” as offering a unique advantage in the CS field.

“The students can get lost in this other world where nobody is asking them to display abilities they don’t have, and they rely on abilities they do have like logic and rational thinking,” she says. “With autism, reading emotions and dealing with subtlety may not come as easily to them as some other students. But the computer only knows logic. They identify with that.”

Back in the APL classroom, high schooler Ia Pixley helped another student try his hand at programming. Ia, who also plays the ukulele and wants to code a computer role-playing game someday, was surprised by how much she enjoyed teaching. For those who understand computer science, it’s no surprise: after all, computer science marks the spot where opportunity and fun intersect.

“It’s basically a sand box,” Ia said. “You can do anything.”

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To learn more about volunteering through TEALS, visit: https://www.tealsk12.org/volunteers/

It’s tough for high schoolers to get excited about anything at 8am. So Microsoft Azure program manager Silvia Doomra brought enough chocolate to go around when she met the 20 students in an introduction to computer science class she co-teaches.

To Doomra’s surprise, though, the Quincy High School teens were plenty enthusiastic even without the sugar boost. That morning was the first time they’d met her in person; they lit up to see her face-to-face instead of as the usual image projected on a screen while she video-conferenced into the class from her office at Microsoft.

Doomra is not your typical teacher. She and three other volunteers work closely with Mark Kondo, a Quincy High teacher with a background in business and marketing, to make sure these students – and all the ones to come after – are equipped to thrive in the 21st century.

Quincy is one of 161 schools from coast to coast participating in TEALS. The industry-wide movement, supported by Microsoft Philanthropies, pairs professionals who come from more than 200 companies nationwide with teachers at schools that otherwise wouldn’t be able to offer computer science classes. After a few years, teachers take over the class entirely, freeing up volunteers to help in other schools – and create even more self-sustaining computer science programs.

Like students in many rural high schools, Quincy’s youth didn’t get much exposure to computer science or STEM professionals. That’s why TEALS is making a concerted push to funnel volunteers from across the tech industry to bring programming to rural teachers and teens.

Students at this rural Eastern Washington high school, which sits mere blocks from the fields that sustain the agricultural community, at first seemed skeptical of the computer science class. But the teens have transformed over the course of just a few months – not only in their technical skills but also their attitudes about the future.

“Last semester, in my mind I was like, I don’t know how to program, and I’m not going to try,” remembers sophomore Hannah Gonzalez, who also plays softball and is on the cheerleading squad. “Then this semester something just clicked. Now I take notes, I study, and I make it fun.

“This summer, I’m going to miss programming.” The 15-year-old paused, then laughed. “I can’t believe I just said that!”

For the source of the shift, Doomra and Kondo point to a field trip to the Seattle Microsoft campus Doomra organized. The students piled into a yellow school bus for the three-hour drive. Many of them had barely left Quincy, let alone ventured into the sleek, modern buildings at a Fortune 50 company.

Doomra and Juan Lema, another remote volunteer and a software engineer at Microsoft Hololens, hosted a campus tour, then the teens then split off to shadow Microsoft employees. Some students attended high-level meetings or got a behind-the-scenes peek at developing technology.

Overall, the message was clear: Volunteers cared about these students from a small town nearly no one has heard of.

As Doomra says, “We are invested and ready to help them in their career.”

TEALS volunteers are impacting the career of teacher Mark Kondo, too. The TEALS course, still in its first year at Quincy, has been revolutionary for him and the school, he says.

“Number one, I have the support of programmers who do a great job working with kids, and number two, they are walking us through the programs,” he says. “It’s an amazing package put together for a classroom teacher who’s trying to learn.” Between the volunteers’ support and the TEALS curriculum, Kondo feels prepared – and inspired – every morning as his students eagerly practice Snap or Python.

The future-facing curriculum encourages the students to consider how the skills they’re learning influence more than just the grade they earn in class. “I hadn’t ever thought about what I wanted to do in the future until this year. We’re just a farming town, no one pursues computer science,” says Brendan Van Diest, a junior in the Quincy TEALS class. “When I made the decision to go into computer-related stuff it was because of exposure I’ve had through this class. I know this is something I could do for the rest of my life.”

TEALS volunteers are confident that no matter what path students pursue, the seeds they’ve planted will bear fruit in the future.

“I’m blessed to have the opportunity to help these guys achieve their goals,” Doomra says. “If I can do anything to make their life better, if they improve even one percent, I have changed the course of a life.”

“How much money do you make?”

The question took Rohan Pal by surprise. Sure, he’d offered to answer questions – any question – about computer science. Clearly the taboo against discussing salaries didn’t register for the 22 students in this Austin computer science class.

Pal, CTO and CIO of the information management company Recall, and another volunteer videoconference in to this class from Atlanta. They co-teach with the course’s instructor, Julia Barraford-Temel, and train her in the foundations of computer science.

Together, they make up just one classroom in TEALS. The initiative was founded by a Microsoft employee, Kevin Wang, seven years ago, but it is powered by volunteers who come from more than 200 companies in the tech industry. And together, they are helping build sustainable computer science programs in schools that will continue to thrive even after volunteers move on.

Back in the Austin classroom, Pal sidestepped. “Well how much do you think you could earn after studying computer science?” Then he explained that young professionals just out of college could earn up to $100,000 a year.

The revelation was met with blank stares. After a moment, a young man asked, “How much is that an hour?” Once Pal translated that figure into an hourly wage, the students were dumbstruck. Many of their parents made less than $10 an hour, they said.

“That’s when it hit me,” Pal remembers. “I’m not giving them just a skill set. I’m giving them a way of life to not only help themselves but their parents and grandparents today and generations of children and grandchildren after them.”

Austin Achieve illustrates a common problem in the United States school system: Computer science teachers and classes are hard to come by. That means fewer young people go on to study computer science in college, resulting in fewer professionals ready to fill the many openings in the industry. Microsoft is infusing $75 million dollars into its YouthSpark programs (one of which is TEALS) in the next three years to train teachers and bring computer science education to even more youth.

Much like other schools across the country, Austin Achieve faces steep challenges. More than 90 percent of the tuition-free public charter school’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch – a way to measure families living in poverty – and many are recent immigrants from Latin America. And despite Austin’s thriving tech industry, Austin Achieve struggled to develop a computer science program on its own.

When students in this East Austin school began the course, many of them didn’t know how to save a computer file or write an email. “Now they’re making code as individual as they are,” Barraford-Temel says.

And so is she. Barraford-Temel taught English in Turkey until accepting a job at Austin Achieve. “I was kind of thrown into teaching computer science, and I felt a lot of apprehension when I found out I’d be teaching tech,” she says now. She had always liked technology but had never written a program. “But the whole experience is life changing. I have fallen in love with computer science on this adventure with my students and volunteers.”

That passion plays out every day as she instructs 250 students in the basics of computer science (and learns alongside them). In addition to the ten sections she teaches, including the one she co-teaches with volunteers, she hosts help sessions twice a week for the kids who need additional instruction – or translation to their native Spanish.

Sometimes help comes from peers. “I was totally confused,” 9th grader Jessica Loya remembers about starting the introduction to computer science course. But TEALS is designed to catch these students before they fall through the cracks, and Jessica sought additional advice from Barraford-Temel after school.

In the coming days, Jessica noticed a classmate wrestling with the same concepts that had stumped her. Jessica, who also plays soccer and sports bright green and blue hair, explained what she had just recently understood – and to her surprise, her friend had a eureka moment, too. “It made me feel helpful and proud because after I was able to get it together, I could help other students who were struggling, too,” she says.

These break-through moments have prompted a career shift for Barraford-Temel. “I always have teaching English to fall back on, but TEALS has changed my long-term life plan. I’m taking courses, getting certified through the Texas Alliance for Computer Education, and I want to teach AP computer science,” she says. “Teaching computer science is something I’m really passionate and excited about, and it’s something students really need.”

What’s more, TEALS classes can change the course of students’ lives. “If one of our students could graduate from university with a career in computer science, it could lift their entire family out of poverty,” Barraford-Temel adds. “A real ripple effect is possible.”

Most days, students are thinking about the zeroes and ones that make their self-made video games run, not about the number of zeroes that come at the end of their future salary. Yet even if they aren’t focused on money, the time they spend in this class is earning them opportunities.

“I was looking for something where I could give back, that I could get passionate about every day, where I could feel it was having an impact,” Pal remembers. “That is what TEALS is for me.”

One Saturday, Minh Nguyen was waiting for the subway to head home. He looked up and noticed a student in his AP computer science class, who was standing with a friend. He said hi and, to his surprise, the two chatted for the next several stops.

As the train sped along, Nguyen and the high schooler talked about the class. She explained how much she liked it, enjoyed computer science – and wanted to go to MIT.

“Good for you!” the New York City-based senior software engineer told her. “I really want you to do that.”

Women and minorities, like Nguyen’s student, are underrepresented in STEM majors and careers in the U.S. What’s more, the number of computer science jobs far outpace the number of young people qualified to fill those openings – partly because computer science is taught in only one quarter of high schools nationwide.

Enter TEALS, the grassroots, industry-wide movement that pairs tech professionals with teachers to establish sustainable computer science programs. TEALS recruited Nguyen and other volunteers to bring CS education to Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem. They instruct students in the AP curriculum, giving them the chance to take the spring exam and earn college credit. They are training a Frederick Douglass teacher so he can lead the class on his own without ongoing volunteer support. And they offer life-changing opportunities to the students who take the class.

“I like trying things probably other people wouldn’t try,” says Jatara Clark, a senior in the TEALS class. She had tried programming with after-school clubs but this was her first try in a computer science class. She has enjoyed coding so much she plans to major in computer science – along with culinary arts.

It’s an unusual combination, though she acknowledges tech skills would help her run her own bakery – or even put a unique spin on sweets. “I could make an invention to help me bake cupcakes, or frost them really quickly or even put edible lights on my cakes – why not? I feel like being different is a good thing.”

Computer-powered pastries aside, Jatara sees a wider ripple effect from the TEALS class. When she and classmates are working on projects or walking down the halls, peers approach them and ask questions about computer science. She steers them toward taking the class next year – “You gotta do a lot of work, but you’ll get through it,” she tells them.

The TEALS model is building toward a critical mass of tech-educated youth. “If you just go into a classroom and teach, you only help students in that class,” Nguyen says. “But when you plant your seeds here and then go to next school and the next school, each school grows a teacher who can teach CS there, and then they’ll inspire teachers too. That’s what we’re doing with TEALS.”

Joel Bianchi, the Frederick Douglass teacher, is proof of that. “I absolutely would not have taught AP computer science without TEALS,” says Bianchi, a trained engineer who also teaches robotics. He had wanted to delve deeper into computer science to offer students yet another STEM opportunity but didn’t have the resources or time to retrain. “TEALS is like someone standing in front of me saying, ‘You wanted to do this, here’s the opportunity. Let’s grab it.’”

The TEALS co-teaching model allows him to learn from the professionals who volunteer in his classroom. “I hope I’m the best student in the class,” Bianchi laughs. “With the help I’m getting from volunteers and the support from TEALS, I’m confident about leading kids through the material.”

Most students don’t realize he isn’t already a computer science expert, Bianchi says. The structure of TEALS allows for seamless team-teaching, so Bianchi simply asks a volunteer to demonstrate or explain a concept he’s still learning.

Bianchi will continue to teach computer science next year – and for the foreseeable future. Thanks to TEALS, years of students down the road will have access to computer science – and the opportunities it creates.

“This high-level computer science class opens up a world to students they never knew existed,” Bianchi says. “TEALS is giving them the confidence that they can do this. They’re already in the STEM world, and now they feel like they belong here.”

Leonardo Souza has seen firsthand how computer science education changes lives. His own trajectory switched from factory work to software engineering when he got into a technical high school outside his native São Paolo. Then when his brother was stuck in a job he dreaded, Souza taught him computer science from afar; the brother now works in the tech field. And Souza volunteered his time teaching computer science to high schoolers on and off for a few years, but when he left, that was the end of the program: There was no one to take his place.

Then he remembered reading a newsletter article about TEALS, the program supported by Microsoft Philanthropies that establishes computer science programs in high schools across the country. The structure of TEALS – team teaching with industry professionals and teachers new to computer science, then gradually phasing out volunteers as the school becomes self-sufficient – appealed to Souza’s goal to spread tech education.

He now volunteers in an AP computer science class at Boston Latin Academy, a public school of students of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.

“It’s not just me teaching computer science; I’m also helping a teacher learn to teach computer science so they can be self-sufficient,” says Souza, a senior software engineer at Firecracker, a company that makes a studying app for medical students. “I know someone else can continue the work even after I’m gone, and it’s scalable. It’s basically perfect.”

Souza and three other professionals come from diverse backgrounds and different tech companies in an industry-wide, grassroots effort to develop computer science education. They support Ingrid Roche, a former English as a foreign language teacher. She has been gaining expertise in computer science even as she helps the volunteers hone their teaching skills.

“Some of our students wouldn’t have had the opportunity to engage in computer science classes, summer camps or other opportunities,” Roche says. “So I felt and feel students at our high school – and any high school – deserve to find out what is computer science, do they want to study it and what opportunities can they get out of computer science.” Nearly all the 29 seniors had never coded before the TEALS class, but they now thrive even when faced with tough assignments. The TEALS structure ensures that students have every opportunity to master concepts, thanks to all the individual attention – a rarity in public schools these days.

“I’m only one person. But having five people really invested and excited in a project makes it a very positive experience for the kids,” she says. The students become comfortable working with assistants other than the main teacher and acting professionally – practice that will help them in college, too.

Take Tyla Smart, a senior who plans to major in computer science when she enters university in the fall. “It definitely helps when problems arise in class because one teacher might have more expertise in a certain abstract area than the other teachers, so the help we receive is very well guided,” she says. Tyla dreams of starting her own software company someday; in the meantime, she volunteers at a community tech center, helping children and adults build web sites or use a 3D printer.

The benefits of TEALS doesn’t stop with students in this Boston class. Volunteers like Souza are helping develop computer science programs in underserved high schools across the country. Their impact multiplies as the instructors they team-teach with become experts in their own right, freeing up volunteers to move on to another school to start the cycle all over again. And as Microsoft funnels more resources into TEALS, the computer science education program will empower a critical mass of teachers and students.

“Without TEALS, many high school students wouldn’t have a computer science teacher,” says Souza, who believes CS is an educational “building block” as vital to young people’s success as math and writing. “We’d miss all those kids who would never realize, hey, computer science is something I would enjoy and have fun with – and something that has a lot of jobs that pay well.”

Souza, whose 12-year-old daughter participates in computer science camps, wants to demystify the tech field and prove that anyone can code. “Computer science is not something you’re born with; you learn. If you dedicate the time, put in the practice and have someone to teach you, you can learn it,” he says. “I want to be a part of something that gives more people exposure to it.”

He has seen what a little exposure can do. Students who struggled, who didn’t see themselves as “computer science people,” who questioned whether they were in the right class have come a long way. As the AP test approaches, they not only hope to earn college credit. They have found something they enjoy as they code special powers for Pokemon characters and create video games out of a blank screen.

“This is why I do this!” Souza says. “More and more of the future is defined within computing. I dream that every kid can be exposed to it and, if they like it, have the opportunity to pursue it.”

Shaded from the Arizona sun in his grandfather’s garage, Mark Dancho used to help wire up a doorbell or build a light table together – tinkering projects that relied on the older man’s experience as an electrical engineer.

“Those are my fond memories of him,” Dancho remembers of his grandfather, who had little patience for children but would allow the kids to help. “He showed me it’s not just about buying something others have made, but that I could create interesting things.”

Dancho is now sharing that magic of discovery with students of BASIS Chandler, a charter school outside Phoenix. The firmware engineer works for SanDisk but volunteers with four others in a computer science classroom. The course is part of TEALS, a grassroots effort supported by Microsoft Philanthropies to equip teachers to forge sustainable computer science programs in schools that otherwise wouldn’t be able to offer the class on their own.

This class epitomizes the essence of TEALS: Volunteers from a wide variety of tech companies not only volunteer in the classroom but also train the school teacher. That way, in a few years that instructor will be expert enough to lead the class without relying on outside help.

The unique approach of TEALS creates a ripple effect of bringing computer science education to 6,400 students nationwide in 2015-2016 alone.

Ritika Gupta, 16, had tried coding on her own but gave up because she didn’t understand and had no one to guide her through the complicated details. But this introductory computer science course gave her the tools to succeed – and the space to develop her curiosity.

“This is not a class where you do it this way, follow the rules. That gets boring,” says the junior, who volunteers at her school’s Red Cross Club and dances Bollywood. “It’s more like a process rather than ‘memorize everything.’ It allows for different kinds of juices to flow.”

That curiosity rubs off on volunteers, too. “It’s really amazing to see how the students use the knowledge they learned and come up with new ideas,” says volunteer Zhijian Hua, a firmware design engineer at Intel Mobile Communications. “It was truly an eye-opening and thrilling experience for me!” He had never taught before, but the TEALS training prepared him to jump in and influence students who might not have access to computer science education without TEALS.

Kristy Taing, 16, was one of those students. She first thought computer science would be boring – but was pleasantly surprised. “I like the problem solving aspect of it,” says the junior. “Every project is like a puzzle. It makes it more of a game than actual work.”

That fun has some students excited about computer science in spite of themselves. BASIS Chandler teacher Joe Bostaph, who primarily taught math until the TEALS class began, remembers a few teens who admitted they’d been converted. “One student said, ‘Mr. B., I wanted to not like the class, but I can’t hate it. I get excited every day in coming to class,’” Bostaph remembers.

He adds that part of the turnaround comes from having professionals in the classroom who can drive home the relevance of understanding, using and creating technology.

“Partnering with computer science experts is awesome because they live it, breathe it, love it and have a passion for it, and they bring diversity to the classroom,” Bostaph says.

The TEALS volunteers come from different tech companies – competitors, even. But no rivalry clouds the experience; they are simply professionals coming together to help children.

“A lot of times, teaching students and seeing them work is one of the biggest joys I get out of the day,” Dancho says. What’s more, giving back in a way that’s meaningful to them holds the potential to help many more people beyond the students in Bostaph’s class.

“I see an opportunity to impact not just the school next to you but schools all over the place – to help improve computer science education and make it better,” Dancho says. “The TEALS program is designed so schools need volunteers less as they get more confident. In the long term, I want to help expand TEALS, touch more lives of youngsters and help expand their opportunities in the world.”