Bozeman Public Library Announces Partnership with Montana Code Girls

BOZEMAN and MISSOULA, MONTANA — July 25, 2016 — Big Sky Code Academy , the leader in immersive coding boot camps across the state of Montana, and Bozeman Public Library and Library Foundation today announced a partnership to bring the Montana Code Girls initiative to Bozeman’s young girls. Montana Code Girls is a year­long free after­school technology program for girls ages 9­19 that teaches leadership, entrepreneurial and computer programming skills modeled after the international Technovation Challenge .
“We are excited to partner with Big Sky Code Academy,” said Susan Gregory, Director of the Bozeman Public Library. “The Library’s newly renovated computer lab is especially suited to host Montana Code Girls, one of the first girls­specific, statewide programs aimed at engaging young girls in technology.”
“This free after­school program ensuring that all Bozeman girls have the access and technical support they need to participate aligns perfectly with the Library and Library Foundation’s missions,” added Paula K. Beswick, Director of the Library Foundation.
With the number of girls involved in STEM activities dropping off around the age of ten and practical approaches to addressing the pay gap between men and women starting in middle school, programs like Montana Code Girls are designed to engage young girls in impactful programming in a safe and engaging environment.
To kick off the program, the Big Sky Code Academy will be holding an information session and MIT App Inventor boot camp on Wednesday, July 27, 2016, at the Bozeman Public Library from 4pm ­ 6pm. The boot camp will feature pitch videos former Montana Code Girls as well as a hands­on training session on how to build an app. The event is free and open to the public.
“The partnership with the Library and Library Foundation is a perfect match for Montana Code Girls and our effort to ensure that girls are at the table when it comes to Montana's future workforce development,” said Devin B. Holmes, co­founder of Big Sky

Code Academy. "As a father of a young daughter myself, I know how critical it is for a program like this to be centrally located and backed by public support like we see here in Bozeman. Girls are hungry for technology, and the Montana Code Girls initiative is really one of the first and only programs like it in the state."
For more information about Big Sky Code Academy’s Montana Code Girls initiative, please visit: http://www.bigskycodeacademy.org/montanacodegirls
About Bozeman Public Library and Library Foundation
The Bozeman Public Library provides the community with free, open and equal access to general information on a broad array of topics; resources to promote personal growth and lifelong learning; popular materials to meet cultural and recreational needs; and the training needed to find, evaluate and use information effectively.
The Bozeman Public Library Foundation seeks to increase and enhance the quality of services, programs, and community events offered by the Bozeman Public Library, benefiting the residents and communities it serves, while advocating for private and public support of the Library.
About Big Sky Code AcademyTM
The Big Sky Code Academy is an accelerated coding boot camp offering online and on­site immersive training for the next generation of programmers. Designed to enable and empower all Montanans, the Academy recently launched two initiatives, Montana Code GirlsTM, and Code4PhilanthropyTM. Montana Code Girls offers events, after­school programs and summer camps to Montana’s girls and young women interested in technology, including sponsoring Montana’s Technovation teams, while Code4Philanthropy Fellows attend the Academy at no cost and upon graduation are placed with nonprofits across beautiful Montana for a 12­month technology fellowship. To learn more, visit: bigskycodeacademy.org
Contacts
Amanda K. Larrinaga
Big Sky Code Academy 1­406­200­8240 amanda@modernentrep.co
Paula K. Beswick
Bozeman Public Library Foundation 406­582­2426 director@bozemanlibraryfoundation.org

Montana Code Girls offers events and programs to Montana’s girls and young women interested in technology. Whether it’s learning to code through our Montana Technovation Challenge teams (check out the trailer to the right to learn more) or our girls-only weekend coding bootcamps, Montana Code Girls is on a mission to inspire and empower interest in STEM.

Big Sky Code Academy
400 West Broadway, Suite 101-407
Missoula, MT 59802

This release was published on openPR.