Chicago's Ascension School and Northside Catholic Academy Implement CodeCombat to Make Learning to Code as Easy as Playing a Game

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 11, 2016) - CodeCombat, which offers the most engaging platform for helping kids learn computer science (CS), announced today that the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office of Catholic Schools has negotiated special pricing for CodeCombat's classroom offering, and is making it available to its schools.

Ascension School and Northside Catholic Academy are the first schools in the Archdiocese to implement CodeCombat, which makes learning to code as easy as playing a game. The only CS learning tool that has students typing real code from day one, CodeCombat enables teachers without any CS background to teach a course on coding.

Ascension School ran a highly successful CodeCombat pilot program for sixth through eighth graders during the spring of 2016.

"We were looking to expand our coding curriculum, and tested many offerings -- with CodeCombat, we saw very high engagement among students, regardless of past exposure to computer science," said Matt Mueller, a technology teacher at Ascension School. "Learning to code is an essential skill for the twenty-first century. We are excited to expand our relationship with CodeCombat, and looking forward to integrating it into all of our middle school technology classes this upcoming year."

"STEM education, including coding, is essential for students in this generation. We believe that nearly every job will require some level of coding skill by the time these students graduate from college," said CodeCombat Co-founder Nick Winter. "We're excited to work with Ascension School and Northside Catholic Academy to bring this important curriculum to their classrooms."

The CodeCombat curriculum is designed to cover more programming skills than any other curriculum, including not only middle- and high-school state standards, but also the AP CS exam and even elite programs such as a Stanford undergraduate computer science course.

CodeCombat is also helping boost student interest in CS careers. Most students, especially girls and students of color, don't ever consider a career in CS. According to CodeCombat survey data, after playing CodeCombat, 88 percent of students become interested in continuing to learn programming.

Schools interested in a free trial of CodeCombat should visit https://codecombat.com/.

About CodeCombat
CodeCombat offers the most engaging platform for helping kids learn computer science (CS), and enables any teacher -- even those without a CS background -- to teach students how to code. CodeCombat has been proven to boost students' interest in computer science careers, especially among girls and students of color, and the majority of students who use the platform report that it's their favorite school activity. Federal and state grants often cover the cost of CodeCombat. Learn more or start a free trial for your child or classroom at www.codecombat.com.