Students honored for coding projects; Sebastian Ochoa Ruiz wins third place in county SchoolCade

The White Eagle School District board on Monday recognized elementary students who participate in a district coding club and held a short ceremony to present certificates to participants.

Superintendent Walker invited students and teachers from the Hathaway/Hackley coding club to the podium and described the after-school program that uses code.org and Scratch to introduce computer science. A teacher explained that the club takes novice students through multiple lessons so they can produce original games and then compete in a school-hosted Panthercade. "We were so excited that we had a winner, a third place winner in the intermediate elementary division, Sebastian Ochoa Ruiz, who is here today," the teacher said.

Teachers said the club emphasizes persistence as well as technical skills. "This coding is just the grit and determination that is so needed in this quick-fix society," a teacher added, praising students who started without experience and completed multilevel game projects.

Board members and the superintendent presented certificates to the students on stage and congratulated families in attendance. The recognition was brief and ceremonial; no formal policy or funding decisions were made at the meeting regarding the coding program.

The district continues to run the after-school Shine program that supports clubs like Panthercade and intends to continue promoting student participation in county-level SchoolCade events.