TeamChild Hackathon: Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline

For far too many students, disproportionally students of color, entering the gateway to incarceration begins with a referral from the classroom to the courtroom. This phenomenon funnels students out of school and into the streets and the juvenile correction system perpetuates a cycle known as the “School-to-Prison-Pipeline,” depriving children and youth of meaningful opportunities for education, future employment, and participation in our democracy.” The emergence of the school-to-prison pipeline has been impacted by trends in school disciplinary practices and zero tolerance policies. It is our challenge to dismantle this pipeline and create new pipelines to success for all children.

The TeamChild Hack is one of the first-ever hackathons in the country to specifically address the “school-to-prison pipeline”. It’s an historic and collaborative event where affected youth, law students, lawyers, legal service providers, coders, and designers will create technology-enabled open source solutions to address the numerous challenges faced by underserved teenagers who cannot afford a lawyer and legal services. The goal of the hackathon is to improve the delivery of services and help students obtain the services that can mean the difference between graduation and incarceration.

The idea is to bring people together for a three-day experiential event to pitch ideas, form teams that will solve the many barriers to staying in school and out of jail. Miguel Willis a rising 3L at Seattle University School of Law is the lead organizer, in partnership with Code Fellows Seattle. As a student leader at Seattle University School of Law, and member of Seattle entrepreneurial community, Willis truly believes that taking an innovative approach to address these issues can lead to more restorative outcomes and increase accessibility of services for youth. 

Event Schedule

The following is a list of the weekend's agenda:  

Day 1 "Empowering Youth Through Storytelling"

• 6PM - Kickoff event with dinner, and networking 
• 7PM - Speakers present "empowering youth through storytelling"
• 8PM - Pitch idea and form teams

Day 2 

• 9:30AM - The fun continues with coffee and breakfast served in the morning! Work with the teams from Day 1 to complete the app spec'd. Mentors will be available throughout the entire day to help you code your solution. 
• 12:30PM - Lunch is served
• 1PM- Education Track for Youth and Hacking Continues
• 5PM - Dinner is served
• 6PM- Hacking Continues

Day 3 

• 9:30AM - The fun continues with coffee and breakfast served in the morning! Work with the teams from Day 2 to complete the app spec'd. Mentors will be available throughout the entire day to help you code your solution. App submissions will be accepted throughout the day with a deadline of 4PM.
• 12:30PM - Lunch is served
• 4PM - Deadline for team registration
• 5PM - Dinner is served
• 6PM - Pencils down. Pitches start promptly at 6PM and are limited to three (3) minutes per team. 

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