A group that aims to boost the diversity of Nashville's tech scene now is reaching into high schools to fill that pipeline.
About 150 juniors at Metro's RePublic High School will be taking a newly required course, spearheaded by the Nashville chapter of the Blacks In Technology Foundation.
Students will be taught about machine learning, health care analytics, app development and a range of other technology subjects. Students can receive college credits at Tennessee State University and also earn industry certifications.
"Building a tech pipeline begins before a student graduates from college. We can’t expect a 21-year-old to choose technology as a career path if we haven’t invested time into engaging that person with technology from a younger age," said Holly Rachel, president of the local Blacks In Technology chapter. "We are intentionally targeting schools with a high percentage of non-white students such as RePublic High School because we want to see more students of color showing interest in technology careers. We know what we want the future of tech to look like, and we are moving toward that future with actionable steps to get technology education to the students that need it."
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) is backing the program, as well as LocalTek and Qubit by Qubit.
The arrangement with RePublic calls for including seniors in the course next year and the year after that. Teaching for the course, which is named LocalTek-Thrive, will occur in-person and also virtually.
Rachel and business partner Lena Winfree kickstarted the Nashville chapter of Blacks In Technology in March 2021. The group, which is free to join, has several hundred local members today.
The duo is talking with other high schools about adding the tech course, particularly those in the historically Black area of North Nashville, such as Pearl Cohn, White's Creek and Maplewood.
