March 7, 2025
Rutherford County Schools
Two Thurman Francis Arts Academy students won the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network’s first-ever Coding Challenge.
The contest was held in celebration of National Computer Science Education Week and featured the "Coding Poetry" activity from Code.org's Hour of Code. Ella Shumate won the K-2 contest with a poem about waves while Nora Williams won the 3-5 contest with music-focused entry. Both are students of Dr. Teresa Wise.
Nearly 100 students in grades K-12 across the state created coded visuals to complement the mood, message, and feeling of original and existing poetic works.
Entries were evaluated by a panel of judges, and winners received prizes to help grow their coding skills. As a sponsoring teacher, Wise received a $400 classroom grant to help support computer science education.
See the students’ entries below:
Ella Shumate: https://studio.code.org/projects/poetry/YGzq306r3PT1WoG7n8gxQtMS1PORm9_4j4aB0_MyMig
Nora Williams: https://studio.code.org/projects/poetry_hoc/sJ0B_9lJzgbpoOhmI1o9KIylRoOU_5nAPHrU2wVNe3s