All Inclusive Playgrounds in West Virginia wins Rep. Carol Miller’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in West Virginia’s First District
Rep. Miller has named Kennedy Fisher, a ninth grader at Cabell Midland, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in West Virginia’s First District.
When asked what inspired the creation of All Inclusive Playgrounds in West Virginia, the student said, “I was inspired to create this app after volunteering for the past three years with my peers in the special needs classroom and at the Special Olympics. The app promotes social inclusion by enabling families and caregivers to find playgrounds within our state that are suitable for everyone. This app can help foster a sense of community and encourages playtime for children of all abilities, helping reduce social isolation and stigmatization.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.