The Scratch Foundation
For Immediate Release
August 11, 2022

91 Influential Organizations From Across the Globe Join Forces with Scratch to Unlock Access to Creative Skills

Scratch Education Collaborative second cohort set to expand access to creative computing tools and resources to children around the world

BOSTON, MA — Scratch, the world’s largest free creative coding platform and community for young people and educators, recently announced the 91 organizations that will participate in the second year of the Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC). This year’s participants — which represent 20+ countries — will join a powerful global network committed to supporting learners from historically marginalized communities and helping them develop confidence through creative computing.

Since launching last year, the SEC has more than doubled. Through the collaborative initiative, educators from around the world exchange resources, share insights and inspire learners — especially those from historically underrepresented communities — to explore creative coding and technology using Scratch and ScratchJr. SEC organizations work with the Scratch Team to develop actionable strategies to support growth and serve learners in their community. 

“We’re thrilled to be part of the SEC to bring ScratchJr to young children all over the world. As they are learning to read and write, they will also learn how to program. We will support them to integrate traditional literacies with new ones of the 21st century, through our ‘Coding as Another Language’ approach. This opens up whole new horizons of creative self-expression alongside problem solving,” said Marina Bers, director of the DevTech Research Group and recently named SEC partner. “It is very exciting to be working with an amazing group of organizations who believe in the power of learning to code to explore new ideas and communicate in new ways.”

Dr. Brandon Nicholson, SEC Cohort 2 participant and Executive Director at The Hidden Genius Project (USA), echoed that sentiment. "We’re thrilled to join the Scratch Education Collective, as it enables us to join a network of innovators and educators leveraging the Scratch platform to inspire and expand access for broad swaths of young people across the globe." 

Last year, 40 organizations participated in the SEC and as a result of their experience, have adopted new approaches to equity-centered creative coding resources. Not only did the initiative break down barriers to technological access but it also allowed for an open exchange of ideas, practices and encouragement between people working in the trenches of computer-science education. 

“Real learning in a collective is a different experience altogether from learning independently, even if that independent learning is technically within the bounds of a partnership,” said Shoaib Dar, SEC participant and Founder and CEO of Pi Jam Foundation (India). “The SEC presents a golden opportunity to refine our practices and create a learning community that can sustain itself.”

The SEC engages organizations in a two-year collaborative partnership designed to bring global advocates for creative coding opportunities to kids and teachers, particularly those from underserved communities, using the Scratch and ScratchJr platforms. The platforms had 18 million new users in 2021 — up 22% from the previous year — and provide a free, safe digital space for learners to explore creative coding, develop computational skills and work collaboratively.

In addition to working together and alongside the Scratch Team, SEC participants have the opportunity to engage and work with Scratch Partner organizations —which include DevTech Research Group, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Micro:bit Educational Foundation. Scratch Partners are selected based on shared values and ethos and work deliberately to enhance Scratch’s impact around the globe. As part of the SEC experience, Scratch Partners facilitate workshops and support culturally sustaining communities through communication and collaboration with participants.

“We are ready to hit the ground running with this year’s SEC and work together in a revolutionary way,” said  Elaine Atherton, director of the Scratch Education Collaborative. “We are advancing equity-centered creative learning experiences and creating a better future for all kids.”

A full list of SEC participants and Scratch Partners is available below. Learn more about the SEC and join the Scratch community by visiting: https://scratch.mit.edu/

2022 Scratch Education Collaborative Participants

Latin America

• #inovareaprender SEMED – Brazil

• “Associação Efigênia Vidigal de Educação e Cultura – AVEC” – Belo Horizonte, Brazil

• “Centro de Atendimento Educacional Especializado a Altas habilidades ou Superdotação- Caahs” – São Luís, Maranhão Brazil

• Fundacion Cruzando – Chile

• Fundación Openlab Ecuador – Quito, Ecuador

• “Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo” – Votuporanga, São Paulo, Brazil

• “Municipal Secretary of Education of Ribeirão das Neves” – Ribeirão das Neves, Brazil

• Sinergia Filantrópica de México, AC – Mexico City, Mexico

• TAGUSVALLEY – Portugal

North America

• 1ST-Gen Scholars – New Braunfels, Texas, USA

• Academies of Math and Science – Arizona, USA

• AccessCSforAll – USA

• Arizona Science Center – USA

• Assemble – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• AVID Center – San Diego, California, USA

• Baton Rouge STEM – Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

• Boolean Girl – Arlington, Virginia, USA

• Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gila River Indian Community – Arizona (USA)

• Code Savvy – Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA)

• CodeVa – Virginia (USA)

• Cornell Tech, K12 Team – New York City, New York USA

• Department of Education Studies, University of California San Diego – San Diego, California, USA

• Eagle Crest Elementary School – Longmont, Colorado, USA

• East Fort Worth Montessori Academy – Fort Worth, Texas, USA

• Engineering in Elementary, Museum of Science– Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Eliot K-8 Innovation School – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Gateway Region YMCA – Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

• Girls Who Code – New York, New York, USA

• The Hidden Genius Project – California (USA)

• Lindblom Math and Science Academy – Chicago, Illinois, USA

• Longview ISD – Longview, Texas, USA

• Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance – Maine, USA

• Maryland Center for Computing Education – Maryland, USA

• MSU Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development, Mississippi State University – Mississippi, USA

• Nextech – Indianapolis, Illinois, USA

• Northeastern Illinois University – Center for College Access and Success – Chicago, Illinois, USA

• Panucation – Boise, Idaho, USA

• Paragon Mills Elementary School – Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• Pinnguaq Association – Canada

• Sacramento County Office of Education – Sacramento, California, USA

• Stanislaus County Office of Education – Modesto, California, USA

• The STEAM Center at Dynamic Wellness (DC Health and Wellness) – Washington, D.C., USA

• Trussville City Schools – Alabama, USA

• University of St. Thomas Playful Learning Lab – Minnesota, USA

Europe

• Arcacomum Associação – Arcacomum Association – Aveiro, Portugal

• Barefoot – Swindon, UK

• Britannia Village Primary School – London, UK

• Cyfrowy Dialog – Warsaw, Poland

• Education Scotland – Scotland

• George Watson’s College – Edinburgh, UK

• Interaction, Technology and Education (ITED) – Canary Islands, Spain

• Luxembourg Tech School (LTS) – Luxembourg

• Mellon gia tin Tehnologia kai tin Ekpaidefsi – mellonLAB – Athens, Greece

• Oaks and Acorns In Harmony C.I.C – London, UK

• University of Crete – Greece

• Varkey Foundation – London, UK

Africa

• Auptimisme – La Marsa, Tunisia

• Creativity Lab – Kigali, Rwanda

• Girls In STEM Trust – Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

• Mindset Coders – Kampala, Uganda

• Mpumalanga ICT CLUB – Witbank, South Africa

• OIC Foundation – Osogbo, Nigeria

• Online Hub Educational Services – Abeokuta, Nigeria

• Pwani Teknowgalz – Kenya

• Siyafunda Community Technology Centre NPC – Johannesburg, South Africa

• Sunyani Senior High School – Ghana

• Teen Tech Hub – Makurdi, Nigeria

• Webfala Digital Skills for all Initiative – Nigeria

• Women In Technology Uganda – Kampala, Uganda

• “Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) – Lagos, Nigeria

Asia

• “Bangladesh Open Source Network (BdOSN)” – Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Chumbaka – Malaysia

• Code Chautari – Kathmandu, Nepal

• Code to Enhance Learning Trust – Ahmedabad, India

• Karkhana Samuha – Kathmandu, Nepal

• Penang Science Cluster – Penang, Malaysia

• Pi Jam Foundation – Pune, India

• Pratham Education Foundation – Mumbai, India

• Smart Cheli – Kathmandu, Nepal

• STEAM for Vietnam – Vietnam

• Women Leaders in Technology – Lalitpur, Nepal

Middle East

• ALICECODE – Israel

• Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem – Jerusalem, Israel

• CoderDojo Iraq – Iraq/Maysan

• Coding4Kids – Iraq

Oceania

• Pam Fergusson Charitable Trust – Aotearoa (New Zealand)

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2022 Scratch Partners

• Raspberry Pi Foundation – Cambridge, UK

• Stanford d. School – Stanford, California, USA

• Chicago Public Schools – Chicago, Illinois, USA

• Micro:bit Educational Foundation – UK

• STEM Nola – New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

• Brazilian Creative Learning Network (BCLN) – Brazil

• The Tinkering Studio – San Francisco, California, USA

• DevTech Research Group – Medford, Massachusetts, USA

• Harvard Graduate School of Education – Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

• The Clubhouse Network – Boston, MA, USA

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The Scratch Foundation
The Scratch Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to providing young people with digital tools and opportunities to imagine, create, share, and learn about the world of technology and coding. Through innovation and collaboration, the Scratch Foundation spreads creative, caring, collaborative, equitable approaches to coding and learning around the world. Scratch is a free website, app, interactive coding platform, and global online community that was developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab in 2003. The platform provides millions of young people from all backgrounds with the opportunity to develop their voices and express themselves by creating their own stories, games, and animations. The Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC) is an initiative that supports and engages participating organizations from around the world in a two-year, collaborative cohort experience to strengthen their organization’s commitment to, and implementation of, equitable creative computing.

Press Contacts
Carlos Diaz Barriga
Director of Marketing and Communications
carlos@scratch.mit.edu 

Annie Whitehouse
Communications Content Manager
press@scratch.mit.edu