School Reopening Calculator wins Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (CA-12) 2020 Congressional App Challenge

When asked what inspired the creation of the School Reopening Calculator, the student said, “Through an email exchange, my Girls Who Code instructor told me of her plan to start a company that helps employees safely transition back to the workplace. Thinking this was a neat idea, I reflected on closed San Francisco schools, and knew that an application like this can help students, administrators, and teachers slowly and safely transition back to in-person learning.” 

Over 6,500 students registered for the 2020 Congressional App Challenge. These students created and submitted 3,088 functioning apps, marking the end of an extremely successful Congressional App Challenge amid the COVID-19 pandemic. All told, 308 Members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 49 states, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands, and Washington, DC.

The CAC is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host competitions 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. The Internet Education Foundation provides the CAC with supplemental support. In the six years of the Congressional App Challenge, thousands of functional apps have been created by over 30,000 students, and participant demographics surpass all industry diversity metrics.