We Need Your Help - Growing The Mentor Service Opportunity

At kidOYO, a unique 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit technology developer, our team builds tools, learning pathways, year-round live learning events, professional development opportunities, and custom curriculum to integrate coding, computer science and engineering into every part of the traditional school experience. From ELA to math class, gym to AP computer science, world history to consumer sciences, every area of learning computes at kidOYO.

Mentors make it possible; advanced skills in the area of creative computing, computer science and engineering are hard to come by. Just knowing how to begin, where to start learning methods that matter in the real world is complex enough to discourage many learners, both young and old. Helping young people turn their passion to learn into practical step-by-step guidance requires people with both skill and patience to directly engage with learners.

Unfortunately, access to mentors is hard to come by, especially in rural areas, or areas lacking access to an advanced workforce. In most classrooms, students are forced to settle for software-driven experiences that intimidated teachers use to pace instruction while providing a limited context for understanding the methods being used to learn. Auto-graders help scale access within these software-driven experiences, but at the cost of human creativity and individuality.

At kidOYO, that is not an option. We deliberately put real people into the learning process, so they can give personal feedback to learners of varying ages and skill levels. When a kidOYO student writes code, they don't need to conform to an auto-grader. Instead, they are free to express their creativity and personal methods of demonstrating skills, and they receive feedback directly from mentors trained to provide appropriate feedback to different aged learners. The result is personal power and community respect.

As kidOYO grows, this relationship between mentors and students is the most important part of the process, and the most difficult to scale. While volunteer mentors are great, the engagement required by learners makes it difficult for consistency if mentors are not rewarded for the valuable contributions they make with their time and skill donations.

From the beginning, kidOYO has committed to building the best mentor experience possible. From training to custom tool development to the creation of mentor service awards that reward the best mentors with real opportunity, kidOYO is dedicated to building a learning system that all are benefitted by engaging. 

The results speak for themselves; kidOYO mentors have helped numerous 6th - 9th grade students prepare for and take the AP Computer Science A test, and earn University credit with their results. Other kidOYO mentors have helped FIRST/FLL/VEX robotics teams win National & Regional championships. Still others have worked with kids as young as 4 in beginning to learn to engage computational thinking methods and coding outcomes successfully.

Now we're seeking help to scale this opportunity to more students and teachers. As an unfunded, independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a tax-exempt public benefit mission, discovering win-win methods that our community is willing to support is vital to the success of our efforts. To date, parents have been the vital resource of greatest value in this regard. Schools and Universities are coming on board aggressively. As a result, we are seeking support from companies and interested individuals who understand the mission we are trying to achieve.

If you have the capacity to support our mission, or would like to donate more than is practical via digital payment, please feel enticed to get in touch with us directly using the following information. Thank you for your consideration and support, at every level.

kidOYO

95 Broadhollow Road, Suite 95D

Melville, NY 11747

631.223.8725