Coded by Kids is seeking applicants for a newly designed teaching fellowship that will provide project-based technology education to Philadelphia middle and high school students. The first of its kind in the city, the Coded by Kids Teaching Fellowship will give current students and recent graduates the chance to use their education and experience to make an impact in the lives of young Philadelphians.

The fellowship is targeted towards “civic-minded” college juniors or seniors, recent graduates, or freelance tech professionals looking for an opportunity to make an impact through tech education.

“We are growing and need to create an internal program to develop high quality teachers,” Maggie Deptola, Coded by Kids chief operations officer said. “The more complex answer is that we're looking to develop a method for attracting and retaining tech talent to Philadelphia by connecting them to the communities in which they work and live.”

Teaching Fellows will commit to one school year, starting in August, of working with the Coded by Kids management team to provide high quality tech education in Philadelphia middle and high school classrooms.

“We hope the fellowship will be a way for us to have a pipeline of dedicated, high quality, and passionate teachers for our programs as we grow,” Deptola said. “We also hope the fellowship will give civic-minded technologists a way connect with and make an impact in Philadelphia communities.”

Coded by Kids envisions their fellowship as a way to bring together people of diverse backgrounds and have them learn about one another. Their students, Deptola said, come from all sections of Philadelphia, and may have never interacted with the tech community before attending one of their programs.

In addition to recruiting tech talent, the fellowship will address diversity issues within the tech community by providing educational opportunities to traditionally underserved populations in Philadelphia.

“Conversely, the Teaching Fellows we recruit may not come from the same backgrounds as our students, so there is a lot to learn and share on both sides,” Deptola said.

Applications are due by July 7, 2016.