Bergen CodeHers was created by an ambitious high schooler who wanted to share her love for the field with girls in junior high.
The first thing most people notice about Paramus High School sophomore Danielle Park is her smile and confidence. But many are blown away by her sense of civic duty.
"I want to continue being a catalyst for change and trying to break down the barriers to the gender gap and also the barriers to diversity," Park said.
And she is doing it.
She was inspired after signing up for an AP computer science class her freshman year.
"I was very intimidated and at time I felt obsolete to kin of feel like I belonged in a class that was so male dominated," she said.
She met a learning curve head on.
"In the beginning at times I'm not always the first person to understand a concept," Park said.
But once she did, she decided it was time to make computer science more attractive to girls and easy to grasp.
"So I decided I'm going to create a book that's understandable, affordable and also something that's going to reach children at a young age," Park said. "I also wanted to create a book that is gender-neutral and also race-inclusive."
Park self-published her book, "Under One Condition: An introduction to Computer Science Principles and Programing in Python."
Her book sells for $9.95 and it's the textbook for her computer course that she created to teach 7th and 8th-grade girls.
It's an eight-session, virtual class that will be held starting July 7, Bergen CodeHers.
"To create a future of more civically and politically engaged students," Park said.
ALSO READ | ABC7 Unite: We Heart Dance breathes new life into NYC's dance scene
We Heart Dance breathes new life into NYC's dance scene
MORE ABC 7 UNITE
See more stories at abc7NY.com/unite
[Ads /]
SEND STORY IDEAS TO EYEWITNESS NEWS
Watch Here & Now
Here & Now episode archive
RESOURCES
We are also publishing resources in a range of areas, which will grow and can be found below:
Ways to Help
Black Lives Matter
Black Voters Matter Fund
NAACP
National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
Voices of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY)
Black LGBTQIA + Migrants Project
Teaching the Next Generation
Black Lives Matter at School
Creating Space To Talk About Racism At Your School
[Ads /]
Teaching for Black Lives - Rethinking Schools
Black-Owned Bookstores in New York and New Jersey
Cafe con Libros (Brooklyn)
Grandma's Place (Harlem)
Sister's Uptown (Manhattan)
Source of Knowledge (Newark)
The Lit. Bar (Bronx)
The Little Boho Bookshop (Bayonne)
Books
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children In A Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Podcasts
[Ads /]
1619
Black Wall Street 1921
Jemele Hill is Unbothered
Still Processing:
Movies
American Son: Available on Netflix
If Beale Street Could Talk: Available on Hulu
Just Mercy: Available on Amazon Prime
Selma: Available on Amazon Prime
The Hate U Give: Available on Amazon Prime
When They See Us: Available on Netflix
Documentaries
13th: Available on Netflix
America Inside Out with Katie Couric: Available on National Geographic
Becoming: Available on Netflix
I am Not Your Negro: Available on YouTube