Folsom, California, 95630.

refugeeyouthlearningservices@gmail.com

1-926-216-9080

Refugee Youth Literacy Services

Join Us!

📍 5005 Windplay Dr #5
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762

🌍 Our Mission

We mobilize high school students as developers and changemakers to design and ship an open source learning platform. At the same time, we empower children from refugee families with equitable access to engaging lessons, teacher feedback, and safe 1:1 support. Schools and NGOs can localize, extend, and reuse it for free.

💡 What Students Will Build

Participants will work in teams of 4 to design and prototype:


  • Discussion board (class/subject rooms): Teachers post; students reply, upvote, and mark “answer”. Optional peer-to-peer board.



  • Materials hub: Upload PDFs, links, or videos; add due dates; mark as “completed”.



  • 1:1 teacher chat: Direct messaging between student ↔ teacher with read receipts.


All projects will be uploaded to a public GitHub repository by the end of the hackathon.

📅 Event Snapshot


  • Format: 1-day, in-person hackathon



  • Audience: High school students (Grades 9–12)



  • Outcome: Working MVP + GitHub repo + pitch presentation



  • Date: To be announced



  • Location: To be announced


📝 Registration


  • Form your team of 4 and register together.



  • Each team submits one registration form.



  • Free to participate, but spots are limited!


👉 Register Your Team Here  

📋 Rules & Guidelines


  1. Teams must consist of exactly 4 students.



  2. Only high school students (Grades 9–12) are eligible.



  3. All code must be written during the hackathon.



  4. You may use open-source libraries and APIs.


  5. Judges will evaluate based on:


    • Innovation & creativity



    • Technical implementation



    • Relevance to mission



    • Presentation & teamwork



  6. All submissions must be uploaded to GitHub by the deadline.


🎒 What to Bring


  • Laptop + charger



  • Power strips (if you can)



  • Student ID



  • Water bottle



  • Lots of creativity and energy!


(Wi-Fi, tables, chairs, snacks & water will be provided.)

🏆 Prizes


  • 1st Prize: $400 (Team of 4)



  • 2nd Prize: $250 (Team of 4)



  • 3rd Prize: $150 (Team of 4)



  • Consolation Prize: Trophies ($100 total)



  • Participation: Digital certificates (Free for all)


📣 Why Join?


  • Work on a real project that will directly support refugee learners.



  • Gain experience in team coding, design, and pitching.



  • Build your portfolio and contribute to open source.



  • Meet mentors, peers, and changemakers.


👉 📩 For questions: [Your Email Here]
🌐 Visit us: ryls.org