Our Mission

Deaf Kids Code Mission Statement:

To promote computer science, technology, and design thinking skills to students who are deaf/hard of hearing as a way to increase their participation in society economically and socially.

The Issue

Data from the National Deaf Center is clear: the deaf/hard of hearing community is unemployed, underemployed, and underpaid at an alarming rate. These trends are exacerbated in the tech sector. Despite having no intellectual disabilities, many potential deaf/hard of hearing employees fall prey to the “school to couch” pipeline, often due to a lack of accessibility and equity in the labor market.

But these discrepancies do not only stem from issues within the labor market; they also arise from a gap in education opportunities. Computer science education has skyrocketed, but for deaf/hard of hearing students, technical education is harder to come by. There is a major need for intentional accessibility within the computer science education space.

The Vision

At Deaf Kids Code, we envision an equitable and accessible education system that empowers all students – no matter what physical challenges they might face. We believe that an education system that truly serves all people will inevitably lead to a labor market that does the same. We see the universal language of computing as the pathway to this ultimate goal. By promoting a genuine passion for computer science in deaf/hard of hearing education, we are equipping students with the necessary technical skills to not only get by in the tech world, but thrive in it. At the end of the day, we all stand to gain from a labor market that refuses to discriminate and allows each and every mind to flourish and change the world.