For eight hours a day, four days a week, the 18 students in Code. They learn coding through project-based sprints, like their peers at Hack Reactor in San Francisco, 20 miles south. None of the inmates had any prior coding experience, and many had to be taught how to turn on a computer and use a mouse. After a few months covering basic computer skills, Shawn Drost, co-founder and head instructor at Hack Reactor, is confident that his San Quentin students, selected after interviews testing aptitude rather than prior competency, will be able to learn the same programming skills as aspiring coders in San Francisco.
And Hack Reactor instructors had to design a coding course for students forbidden from accessing the Internet. So Hack Reactor instructors have done what tech startups love to do: iterated and improvised. Like many coding camp students, these inmates hope that their new skills will help them find employment upon graduation--and release.
After his release, Hollis, a Navy veteran, hopes to help others with successful reentry to society. With programming skills, he hopes to ensure an income for himself and for others. Drost is hopeful that he will. The Last Mile, the nonprofit that developed Code. It began as a six-month tech entrepreneurship program at San Quentin, in which inmates learned business, presentation and social media skills while developing a startup plan including technology and a social cause.
So far, seven of the nine graduates released from prison are employed by Bay Area companies. Redlitz sees Code. Indeed, Code. By providing individuals with employment while incarcerated, Code.
Leal sees The Last Mile--and Code. As Leal sees it, graduates of Code. He sees strong parallels between newly released individuals and startups. Both parties share that kind of resilience and fearless movement towards change. Jason Jones, a student in Code. Sign up for our Newsletter. Like this article? Charley Locke. Next Up. By Tony Zanders. More from EdSurge. Get our email newsletter Sign me up. Keep up to date with our email newsletter Sign me up.
