@stlouisamerican
2015 Newspaper of the Year! @stlouisamerican
St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited DEC. 29, 2016 – JAN. 4, 2017
Vol. 88 No. 38 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘My life has been transformed’ Free CoderGirl program connects women with technology – and opportunities Jennifer Franklin learns coding at the weekly CoderGirl meeting at the LaunchCode office at 4811 Delmar Blvd.
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Last winter, Kimberly Vaughn and DeAnna Tipton both found themselves needing a career change. Vaughn, 41, said she was “tattered and worn” of the industry she was in and was struggling as a single mother. Tipton, 25, was simply fed up with her job. Although neither had a technology background, they both decided to attend the CoderGirl meet-up group at LaunchCode, a nonprofit that offers free training courses in coding at 4811 Delmar Blvd. in the Central West End. “My life has completely been transformed,” Tipton said. The CoderGirl meetup group launched in 2014 and has since seen about 500 women walk through
n The CoderGirl meetup group launched in 2014 and has since seen about 500 women walk through the door.
the door. In January, the weekly meetup will evolve into a more structured year-long coding program for women – that’s still free. “Coding is a way to communicate with computers,” said Crystal Martin, the program director for CoderGirl. “It’s a problem-solving discipline. It requires people to enjoy being wrong.” Martin said there are different types of coding
See CODERGIRL, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
School districts issue warnings about new criminal code ‘Break the Pipeline’ campaign strategy session December 29 at MCU By Camille Phillips Of St. Louis Public Radio
Photo by Wiley Price
Libation for Kwanzaa Janis Katambwa (center) led Jennifer Haynes and her daughter Jasmine, 4, in a libation ceremony during the Kwanzaa Festival of First Fruits program at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Ridgway Visitor Center on Wednesday, December 28. This year Kwanzaa – which its founder Maulana Kaurenga calls “an ancient and living cultural tradition which reflects the best of African thought and practice” – started December 26 and concludes on January 1.
Warnings issued by two St. Louis County school districts on December 22 sparked a flurry of concern that students who fight in school will be charged with a felony beginning in January. In a video posted to YouTube, Ferguson-Florissant Superintendent Joseph Davis told students and parents that “the consequences of poor choices and bad decisions, a simple fight, may follow you for the rest of your life” when changes to Missouri’s criminal code take effect in 2017. A notice issued on the Hazelwood School District website said the statutes “may have a drastic impact on how incidents are handled in area school districts.” See SCHOOL, A7
Inclusion in action at community college St. Louis Community College celebrated inductions into the National Technical Honor Society in fall 2015. The college is a charter member of the society. STLCC Chancellor Jeff Pittman teaches college staff that a career in the trades can break the cycle of poverty in a family.
STLCC and its first diversity director implement new system-wide plan By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Every day, Keith Fuller carries around a copy of a 32-page report that has folded pages and red-inked notes throughout. The report is titled “Diversity and Inclusion: An Action Plan for St. Louis Community College.” “I often tell people, ‘I can guarantee you that this is not a document that’s just going to sit on the shelf somewhere, where we can tell people we did it,’” said Fuller, the college’s director of diversity and inclusion. See INCLUSION, A6
BUSINESS
Photo by Bradley J. Rayford
SPORTS
THE GUIDE
New Head Start grants for Urban League
Big Shootout in Highland
Best in show
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis received two new Head Start grants totaling more than $7,703,463.
The seven-game high school tourney features quality teams from St. Louis, the Metro East, Kansas City and Central Illinois.
Beyoncé at The Dome and Lauryn Hill at LouFest top Kenya’s list of St. Louis concerts of 2016.
Page B1
Page B3
Page C1