Start from Scratch is our latest nationwide initiative designed to bring high quality, relevant, common core aligned curriculum directly to teachers working in secure care facilities across the country. Start from Scratch is a unique, technology-driven initiative that offers students the chance to learn coding and programming skills while they are in secure settings.

 

Starting from Scratch starts with a two-day writing exercise. Students will write a letter responding to a prompt exploring the theme of restorative justice from a personal perspective. The curriculum will then transition to instruction with the programming tool, Scratch.  Scratch is a free downloadable programming tool, designed out of MIT, that can be used to create animations and games. Scratch supports basic to advanced programming and requires no prior programming experience. Students will then have five days to convert their letter to an animation using the Scratch skills they learned.

 

The initiative will culminate with a nationwide competition. Judges come from the private sector, academia, and juvenile justice arenas.

 

Schools and educational programs in juvenile facilities around the U.S. are invited to begin implementing the Start from Scratch curriculum on October 20, 2014. CEEAS will sponsor a series of webinars that will provide teacher training.  In addition, CEEAS provides daily lesson plans and instructional materials.