Co-Learn Code and Mind

We are partnering with five Montgomery County middle schools to develop and pilot Co-Learn Code and Mind, a school-based program supported by a seed grant from the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM). Launched in the 2025–26 school year, the program will provide students, especially those from marginalized STEM identities or with limited access to robotics, hands-on opportunities to co-design, build, and program robots while engaging in transformative social and emotional learning (SEL) and youth-participatory action research (YPAR). The clubs are designed to foster belonging, purpose, and empowerment, helping youth envision themselves as ethical innovators in AI and robotics. Supported by mentors ranging from high school and UMD students to older adult volunteers, the pilot will create a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational learning environment. Partners include Montgomery County Public Schools, the Academy of Excellence Robotics Club, the Special Education Equal Development Society, the Jewish Council for the Aging, and the Maryland Robotics Center.