RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION NORTH AMERICA INC

IN THE US, WE ESTABLISHED 220 NEW CODE CLUBS AND CODERDOJOS, 138 OF THOSE BEING CODE CLUBS AND 82 BEING CODERDOJOS. WE SUPPORTED 137 YOUTH TO PARTICIPATE IN LAST YEARS' COOLEST PROJECTS ONLINE EVENT, THIS BEING THE SECOND HIGHEST PARTICIPATION RATE WE'VE SEEN THUS FAR IN THE US. WE LED SEVERAL WORKSHOPS AT EDUCATOR-FACING EVENTS INCLUDING THE STEM ECOSYSTEMS LEARNING CONVENING, THE BROADCOM FOUNDATION'S SCIENCE FAIR DIRECTOR'S RETREAT, POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE CONFERENCE, THE SARSEF FAIR DIRECTOR'S CONFERENCE AND OTHERS. ATTENDING THESE EVENTS NOT ONLY SUPPORTED OUR OVERALL GROWTH FOR CLUBS IN THE US, BUT ALSO HELPED US IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES TO PURSUE IN 2024 WITH MULTIPLE SCIENCE FAIRS THAT, ON AVERAGE, REACH OVER 1,000 YOUTH! IN 2023, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS REACHED 509 LEARNERS FROM EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS THROUGH PROGRAMS HELD WITH OVER 10 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO. THE BEST BUY BLUE GIVES BACK INITIATIVE REACHED 125 LEARNERS ALONE; WHERE PARTICIPANTS WERE LED THROUGH THE "INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON: VARIABLES, FUNCTIONS, AND LOOPS" PATHWAY BY RPF-TRAINED FACILITATORS. EIGHT OF OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS WERE RETURNING PARTNERS, RUNNING SUMMER PROGRAMS AND RECURRING COHORTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE CONTENT SPANNED FROM OUR "INTRODUCTION TO SCRATCH PATHWAY," TO "INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON AND EVEN SOME PROGRAMS USING RASPBERRY PI HARDWARE TO TEACH PHYSICAL COMPUTING. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS FORMED RELATIONSHIPS WITH PARTNER SITES ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IN STATES WITH HIGH POPULATIONS OF EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED LEARNERS, INCLUDING CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, MARYLAND, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, AND EVEN THE STATE OF GUANAJUATO IN MEXICO.OUR KEY OBJECTIVES FOR 2024 ARE GROWING CODE CLUBS, BUILDING A VIBRANT COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS AND EDUCATORS WHO ARE INSPIRED TO GET CREATIVE WITH TECHNOLOGY, AND SUPPORTING EDUCATORS IN DEVELOPING THEIR SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TO TEACH COMPUTING. WHILE OUR FOCUS IN 2023 WAS ON NON-FORMAL OPPORTUNITIES, IN 2024, WE AIM TO EXPAND BOTH NON-FORMAL AND FORMAL EDUCATION INITIATIVES. THIS INVOLVES RECONNECTING WITH RASPBERRY PI CERTIFIED EDUCATORS AND EXPLORING COLLABORATIONS WITH SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO IMPLEMENT THE COMPUTING CURRICULUM AND POSSIBLY ADA CS. TO ACHIEVE THESE OBJECTIVES, WE PLAN TO A) EXPAND OUR US-BASED TEAM B) FORM PARTNERSHIPS WITH BOTH NATIONAL AND LOCAL YOUTH-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS AND EDUCATION SYSTEMS C) SHIFT OUR APPROACH IN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS D) LEVERAGE OUR EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH RASPBERRY PI CERTIFIED EDUCATORS AND STEM-FOCUSED NETWORKS.