Eastside News

Coding school on eastside offers full-ride scholarships for laid-off teachers

A high-tech school on the eastside is now offering full-ride scholarships for teachers who recently lost their job.

Coding Dojo in Bellevue just launched a program offering full-ride scholarships, worth a total of $420,000, for up to 30 Washington State teachers who recently lost their job.

Just in the last month, a number of Western Washington School Districts slashed full-time and part-time teaching positions due to budget cuts.

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Close to 40 teachers got pink slips in Edmonds about 30 others in Tacoma.

At Coding Dojo, the staff said many teachers have what it takes to succeed.

“They know the value of preparations and doing their work and all those things,” said Coding Dojo director Mark Smith. “That will make them really good students here at Coding Dojo. Our goal is to transform them into 21st century ready employees”.

55-year-old Willow Ryan just got accepted in this program. She’s been searching for a full time teaching position in Washington for the last few years since she was laid off in Florida.

“It’s really an opportunity to get a fresh start, to change career, to change your entire outlook and even add skills that you can take back to your school because programming is important everywhere now,” said Ryan.

According to Coding Dojo, about 94 percent of their alumni got a job within six months of graduating. The average annual salary about $76,000 a year.

Applicants must enroll in the June, July, August or September cohorts for either the online program or onsite program at our Bellevue campus.

Ryan plans to drive in from her home to Maple Valley for her classes for the next 14 weeks. She looks forward to career opportunities when she graduates this fall.

“You get out of this what you put into it and I intend to put in a lot,” said Ryan.

For more information on Coding Dojo and its teachers' scholarship program, go to this link.

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