Calling on all middle school and high school students to raise your hand and make East Tennessee proud!
Each summer into fall, an exciting, nationwide Congressional App Challenge (CAC) is sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s designed to encourage student innovation, as well as engagement in computer science and coding. All middle school and high school students are eligible to participate. The registration period for the 2021 Congressional App Challenge is now open. Students interested in participating in this year’s Challenge must register online no later than September 10, 2021.
After registering, eligible students can get to coding right away! Final app submissions must be submitted no later than midnight on November 1, 2021.
This nationwide opportunity allows students to compete against their peers by creating an application (also known as an “app”) for any platform such as desktop/PC, web, tablet, mobile, raspberry Pi or other devices. Any programming language, such as C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, or "block code" is acceptable. A student may only submit one app entry and can register as an individual or as a team of up to four eligible students. An app coded after October 19, 2020, is an eligible entry. A full list of rules is available here.
I would love to show off the commitment it takes to learn alongside the many talents of our East Tennessee students. I strongly encourage our students of all skill levels to register to participate and experiment with app creation.
A winner from our First Congressional District will be selected by a panel of expert volunteer judges. The winning entry will be featured on CongressionalAppChallenge.us and will be placed on display in the U.S. Capitol for one year, joining winners from each congressional district nationwide. All eligible students from the First Congressional District who submit a qualifying app entry will receive a commendation certificate and a special congressional challenge coin unique to our district.
Are you a local teacher or computer science expert who may be interested in volunteering to serve as a judge to help inspire our next generation of coders? The 2021 CAC is still looking for volunteers and judges, and more information can be found here.
For additional information on the 2021 CAC, please contact my office. You may also visit the official Congressional App Challenge website or email StudentSupport@CongressionalAppChallenge.us.