But it’s not unusual for the Santa Fe students slated to show off their creative coding projects from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Apr. 10 at the Santa Fe Higher Education Center on 1950 Siringo Road, an event that is free and open to the public.
And it’s all thanks to Apple. The local program, called the Santa Fe Creative Coding Initiative, came about in 2023 when a Santa Fe group, partly made up of Apple expats, approached their former employer with a pitch to bring the Apple Community Education Initiative to Santa Fe.
“They had such a vision for what they wanted to see here within Santa Fe itself,” said Stacy Erb, director of Apple’s Community Education Initiative, which was launched in 2019, in an interview on Thursday.
“Everyone was coming together — whether it was K-12, out of school, higher education [or] workforce — they all came together and said, 'We want to do this, and let's create these pathways for students so that we can cultivate our own talent and provide these opportunities for all across the community, whether that's in an underserved part of the Santa Fe area or just, all across,'" she said.
Now, since its start in 2023, the program has led more than 1,500 students to participate, ranging from second-graders in school technology labs to 60-year-olds aiming to improve their handle on technology.
The creative coding initiative is run through Santa Fe Community College, which sets up off-site learning labs at a variety of schools and out-of-school programs to provide learners across Santa Fe with the bespoke digital instruction both in-school and after school.
Participating institutions range from Santa Fe Public Schools and Santa Fe Indian School, to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe and STEM Santa Fe, with older learners able to participate through Santa Fe Community College’s continuing education programs.
Students’ projects this year range from a film documenting the youth experience in Santa Fe to a myriad of apps, including one that replaces La Fonda’s binder of curated art with a streamlined application for smartphones and iPads.
While curriculum isn’t handed down by Apple, the company provides professional development and a general framework of “challenge-based learning” to empower students to use coding to address challenges within their own communities.
Now, through the program, Apple provides participating partners with Apple devices, software and a curriculum framework to give educators professional development to tailor their programs to students.
The Santa Fe program is one of more than 150 across the world providing instruction thanks to Apple. The programs exist in all 50 states and more than 100 countries.
“At Apple, we have always believed in the power of education to create opportunity, and we believe access to that technology can really help everyone unlock their potential,” Erb said. “We've seen some great outcomes so far, and I can't wait to see what's next.”
©2025 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
