Technology as an enabler, one student at a time

tech2elevate brings STEM education to high school students in underserved communities. Software professionals volunteer one hour a week for eight weeks to mentor students one-on-one, and by the end every student has built a working website with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We started at Target in Minneapolis, and we want to help other companies and schools do the same.

Find your way in

Tech leaders: your engineers already have everything this program needs. The curriculum, starter project, and setup guides on this site are free to use. See what it takes.

Teachers: we’d like to bring mentors to your students. See what the program looks like in a school.

Mentors and students: the Curriculum has each week’s lesson, cheat sheet, and the Week 1 laptop setup. The Web Fundamentals Guide is an interactive walkthrough of how the finished shopping cart works, good for mentors preparing a lesson and for students reviewing on their own.

How the program works

• Who: high school students, many of them writing their first line of code, paired with volunteer mentors from the tech industry.
• What: a shopping cart website built from a blank folder, one piece per week, using the same tools professional developers use.
• When: one hour a week for eight weeks, with a final session where students present their work.
• Why: to spark curiosity, show students that a career in technology is within reach, and give them a skill they can keep building on.

Our story so far

On most Friday afternoons, Target Tech mentors head to Hiawatha Collegiate High School in South Minneapolis to teach a group of awesome kids about coding and mentor them on education and careers. With every visit, we see our connections with the students and teachers growing stronger. Hiawatha Collegiate High School’s student body comprises 71% economically disadvantaged individuals, with 88% identifying as Hispanic and 10% as Black or African American. We also partner with Sisters-N-Technology, an outreach program focused on bringing technology to underserved youth.

Our Target Tech mentors have evolved the program to include a formal curriculum and weekly lessons with hands-on activities. At the end of the 8-week program, the students head to Target Northern Campus where they tour the campus and the Guest Experience Center, enjoy lunch, and demonstrate what they’ve learned to their mentors and peers. Each year, we also present the students with a refurbished Target laptop they can use to continue their learning and development journey.

Sisters-N-Technology

The mission of Sisters-N-Technology is to engage young women in computer science and related IT fields. It is the only after-school program in Minneapolis Public Schools that focuses on coding and STEM, and the first computer technology high school program in Minneapolis Public Schools. Sisters-N-Technology gives young women the technology skills they need to be successful in the classroom and beyond.

Want to be part of the next chapter? Partner with us.