Town Acres Elementary students and staff gave the Johnson City Schools Board of Education an overview of their Girls Who Code after-school club during the board’s public meeting.

The presentation, led by Dr. Smith, Town Acres teacher and club founder, and Ms. Hall, club co-leader, described weekly sessions that include unplugged coding activities, code.org challenges, book study and field trips. A student representative told the board, “My favorite part of the club was where we did the maze, and it taught us how to use the computer in coding and stuff,” describing how early exercises help members think in precise, step-by-step instructions.

The presenters said the club received support and materials from the national Girls Who Code organization, including books and some funding. They described hands-on activities provided by the group and other partners — binary-code bracelets, robot demonstrations and a visit to a high-school robotics classroom at Science Hill, where students worked with high-school mentors on robotics projects.

Dr. Smith told the board she started the club to expand STEM opportunities for girls at Town Acres after seeing benefits her son received from local robotics and STEM programming. Students and staff emphasized the program’s goal of reducing gender gaps in computing and introducing elementary students to technology careers.

Board members thanked the students and staff for the presentation. No formal action was taken; the segment was informational.

The presentation also included student-cited statistics about computing jobs and education, presented as part of the club’s outreach about career opportunities in technology.