HMS wins app challenge

Published 1:00 pm Monday, December 20, 2021

HAHIRA – Two Hahira Middle School students developed an award-winning app to teach life skills.

Eighth-grade FBLA students Aarin Dave and Deshaun Hester competed in the Congressional App Challenge for the Eighth District with Congressman Austin Scott.

Scott surprised the first-place winning app builders last week.

Scott congratulated the students on a job well done and thanked them for developing an app that is simple and effective for people who learn differently.

“This was a such a wonderful surprise to wrap up the semester, like an early Christmas gift,” Dave said. “I enjoyed working with Deshaun and learned a few of my strengths and weaknesses as it comes to programing.”

Hester said, “I am still trying to process the news but I had fun working with Aarin. I learned very quickly about programing and enjoyed building the app.”

Dave and Hester built an Android app that teaches youth with disabilities how to tie their shoes, use the washer and dryer, and how to wash their hands. The app also has daily challenges.

“Our life skills teacher at HMS instructed FBLA students that the students learn better from those their own ages,” Laila Taylor said. “We wanted to develop an app that would be effective in the classroom.”

Taylor is a computer science teacher and FBLA advisor at Hahira Middle.

“I chose Aarin and Deshaun to develop this app because they were advanced in my STEM Class Project Linkaway/App Creators,” she said. “I started them off building their own app very soon and connected with my FBLA students to achieve the project goals.”

The app development was a collaborative effort with the FBLA students and life skills students participating in developing concepts and recording the videos for Dave and Hester to incorporate into the app.

“This is a major honor for HMS. We are truly proud of Aarin and Deshaun for their willingness and their … app that works towards inclusion and helping others,” Dr. Ivy Smith, HMS principal, said. “With technology being a number one learning tool we have to adapt our teaching methods. This app will be used in our life-skills courses.”

Dave and Hester will be invited to Washington, D.C., to network with other young app developers. The Life Skills App link will be available on house.gov for the country to view.