National award-winning mobile application developers will showcase work at iFair

National award-winning mobile application developers will showcase work at iFair. Photo courtesy of MPS.

MILWAUKEE (November 16, 2015) – They won a national mobile phone application contest and on Wednesday, students from Milwaukee Public Schools‘ Washington High School of Information Technology will be showcasing their successful work to younger MPS students at the school’s fall iFair.

The event helps connect middle school students to career pathways — and to programs at Washington High School of IT. It’s set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at the school, 2525 N. Sherman Boulevard, Milwaukee 53210.

Along with dozens of local business partners, Washington IT students Zwannah Khalil, Melissa Vernon and Charles Wallace will be at the iFair, showing students the national award-winning bowling app they created. “WHS Bowling” gives users the chance to aim for spares and strikes at a virtual bowling alley while they receive rotating messages.

Experts ranked the MPS students’ app among the five best created by student groups from high schools around the country that are part of the Lenovo Scholar Network, a partnership aimed at growing the next generation of mobile app developers. The network then invited the public to vote for their favorite among the top five.

The Washington students’ app won.

“When the emcee called Washington as the winner of the Fan Favorite Award, we all jumped up from the table and ran up on stage,” Zwannah recalled. “It was one of the best moments of my life.”

Washington was one of the first 10 U.S. high schools to join the Lenovo Scholar Network and this year, when another 20 schools were admitted, MPS’ North Division High School was among them. Both schools offer students the chance to take multiple Information Technology classes through a NAF Academy of Information Technology. NAF – a national network of education, business and community leaders working to ensure students are college, career and future ready – sponsors the network along with tech firm Lenovo and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MediaLab.

“I’m proud of how our students worked together to complete an application that a national audience enjoyed,” Washington IT educator Scott Kempen said. “I’m looking forward to our returning students and several new students from Washington being ready to create a new variety of applications next semester for including in the Lenovo Scholar Network program.”

In addition to the Washington students, iFair event partners who will be helping students connect to careers include: ACM, Aurora Health Care, BDPA, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, the Computer Science Teachers Association, Concurrency, Direct Supply, FIRST, Froedtert Health, the Greater Milwaukee Committee, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, MMSD, MPS’ TEAM UP College Access Centers, Marcus Hotels & Resorts, Microsoft, Milwaukee Area Technical College, My Life My Plan, NAF, the National Center for Women and Information Technology , the National Fluid Power Association, Northwestern Mutual, PDS, Project Lead the Way, Rockwell Automation, SKC Communications, SIM Wisconsin, STEM Forward, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Versifit Technologies.

About Milwaukee Public Schools

Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to accelerating student achievement, building positive relationships between youth and adults and cultivating leadership at all levels. The district’s commitment to improvement continues to show results:

• More MPS students are meeting reading standards
• The MPS Class of 2015 earned $39 million in scholarships; and
• MPS is home to 7 of the state’s top high schools according to U.S. News and World Report and the Washington Post.

Learn more about MPS by visiting our website. More news is available at mpsmke.com/news.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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