AUSTIN, Texas — Nine-year-old Juan Puente is enrolled in the computer science and coding class as Austin Kids Can!

The nonprofit provides after-school opportunities in computer science, coding and social-emotional learning for students from Hart, Harris and Pecan Springs elementary schools in Austin ISD.

“Right now we’re looking at ... I need to get all the gems,” Juan said as he worked a coding puzzle on his screen. “We took out all the gems but I need to figure out how to get the last one.”

The third-grader is one of 13 students in his class. 

“We help each other and we talk to each other how to do the coding,” he said. 

Fifty-one percent of students within Puente’s grade level in the district are at a met grade level or above, according to the Texas Education Agency’s 2019-2020 Texas Academic Performance Report. 

The Austin Kid’s Can! program works to bridge educations gaps for economically disadvantage students. 

“These are all fundamental skills that kids at an early age benefit from,” Donna Raskin, executive director and founder of AKC!, said. “The computer science and coding [class], they benefit how to problem solve, a lot of math and reading involved and a lot of critical thinking.”

Raskin says about 50 students are enrolled in the program that began back in 2017. 

The program partners with the The Andy Roddick Foundation to provide funding for after-school programming. 

“It's so important for these young children to have this opportunity to learn about computers, technology to learn how to get a long with each other to persevere in hard times,” Raskin said.