TEALS
We’re looking for volunteers with a programming background, not a teaching background. We create partnerships between the volunteers and a high school teacher. The volunteer brings the CS content knowledge, and the teacher handles classroom management and helps make sure the pedagogy is sound.
It’s a significant time commitment. Volunteers are expected to visit class 2-3 times per week. Classes are typically held first period so that volunteers can visit before work. Details below.
Apply Now to Volunteer for 2015/16 School Year!
With software engineers in high demand in the private sector, schools often cannot find instructors with a computer science background, and they struggle to compete with the compensation packages offered in industry.
TEALS helps high schools teach computer science by providing a team of trained volunteers to partner with a classroom teacher and deliver computer science to their students. Over two years, the classroom teacher gradually takes over the responsibilities of teaching the course. TEALS volunteers create a ripple effect, impacting not just the students they teach, but the hundreds of students who will study CS with the teacher they help prepare.
Volunteering through TEALS is an extraordinary opportunity, yet extraordinary commitment. Click here to learn more about TEALS volunteerism. Click here to apply as a volunteer. Please apply by May 1st, 2015 to be considered for the 2015/16 school year.
What is TEALS?
TEALS (Technology Education And Literacy in Schools) is a grassroots program that recruits, trains, mentors, and places high tech professionals from across the country who are passionate about computer science education into high school classes as volunteer teachers in a team teaching model where the school district is unable to meet their students’ computer science (CS) needs on its own.
TEALS works with committed partner schools and classroom teachers to eventually hand off the CS courses to the classroom teachers. The school will then be able to maintain and grow a sustainable CS program on their own.
Of the 3,385 TEALS students taught either the UC Berkeley CS10 or UW CSE142 courses in the 2013-14 school year: 23% (780) were underrepresented minorities, and 25.6% (868) were girls. 40% of our schools are Title One schools, and 10% are rural schools.
89% of our students said that the volunteers were effective in helping them understand CS (n=548). Across the board students reporting themselves proficient in a programming language went from 19% to 82% (n=800, 566)
TEALS Volunteer Application
Welcome to the TEALS volunteer application for the 2015-16 school year. We are excited that you are considering volunteering to help a high school build a sustainable computer science (CS) program with us. 90% of high schools in America do not offer CS courses to their students, and this application is your first step in helping one of them.
This volunteer opportunity is a large time commitment on your part because this is not an easy problem to solve. It will require a high level of dedication on your part. Some of our volunteers tell us that participating through TEALS has been one of the harder endeavors they have taken on in life, but also one of the most rewarding. This is a chance for you to make a real difference, as we see the entire tech community coming together to bring computer science to every high school in the US.
Before you start, make sure that you have done the following:
1. Attend an info session either in person or online or watch a recorded version.
2. Read the Volunteer Guide and the Frequently Asked Questions.
Still with us? Ready to volunteer?
using any of your existing Microsoft / Google / Facebook / LinkedIn / Yahoo / Twitter accounts.
2015-16 School Partnerships
This map represents the schools that have applied for a TEALS partnership and have been accepted for the 2015-16 school year or whose applications are still under consideration. Please note that this list is not final and is subject to change.