{"id":9682,"date":"2023-02-16T07:14:09","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T15:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=9682"},"modified":"2026-02-19T09:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T17:07:16","slug":"turning-to-microsoft-azure-to-put-software-engineers-in-high-school-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/turning-to-microsoft-azure-to-put-software-engineers-in-high-school-classrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning to Microsoft Azure to put software engineers in high school classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MicrosoftWe periodically update our stories, but we can\u2019t verify that they represent the full picture of our current situation at Microsoft. We leave them on the site so you can see what our thinking and experience was at the time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Software engineers at Microsoft and other companies love that they get to teach their craft in high schools across the United States and in parts of Canada.<\/p>\n

The grassroots program\u2014which is now more than 10 years old\u2014has been so successful that the people who manage it had to rebuild the infrastructure they use to operate it from the ground up. The program was bumping its proverbial head and needed to scale.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, they wouldn\u2019t have to go far to get what they needed; the solution could be built upon Microsoft Azure.<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s Technology Education and Learning Support (TEALS) program helps prepare high schoolers for careers in computer science.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve finally got the scale that we\u2019ve been looking for. Technology is no longer a limiting factor for us.<\/p>\n

\u2014Ganesh Shankaran, principal software engineering lead, Microsoft Digital<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Ganesh
Participation in the TEALS program has grown so much that the team needed to rethink the technology supporting it, according to Ganesh Shankaran, a principal software engineering lead in Microsoft Digital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe growth of our program has gone far beyond what we could have ever imagined,\u201d says Ganesh Shankaran, a principal software engineering lead with Microsoft Digital, the organization that powers, protects, and transforms the company. \u201cIt got so popular that we couldn\u2019t keep up.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response Microsoft recently revamped TEALS\u2019 Operational Platform, known as TOP for short. Built on Microsoft Azure, the new TOP allows regional managers of TEALS to incorporate many more schools, which will allow the company to get many more Microsoft and other software engineer volunteers into classrooms.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve finally got the scale that we\u2019ve been looking for,\u201d Shankaran says. \u201cTechnology is no longer a limiting factor for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the improvements to TOP, Microsoft can now achieve its philanthropic goals, opening doors to careers in technology for students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields from all over the United States and British Columbia.<\/p>\n

The need for TEALS<\/h2>\n

Since the nascent stages of the Information Age, there has been a deficit in computer science professionals. Plenty of colleges offer the right degrees, but there\u2019s a scarcity of pre-college computer science education.<\/p>\n

In the USA, there are even state laws mandating that every student needs to take a computer science class to graduate, yet there are few resources in place to ensure that teachers can successfully deliver the instruction. Microsoft’s TEALS program strives to address this ever-growing need.<\/p>\n

\u2014Emily Fishkind, senior product manager, Microsoft Digital<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Qualified experts who could teach high school computer science courses usually opt for higher paying jobs. Especially in rural areas and in schools where students are predominantly Black and African American, finding adequate computer science educators is a major obstacle.<\/p>\n

\"Fishkind
There aren\u2019t enough computer science engineers to keep up with demand, says Emily Fishkind, a senior product manager in Microsoft Digital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are efforts across the United States to turn the tide, and we\u2019re happy to be a part of that effort here at Microsoft.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the USA, there are even state laws mandating that every student needs to take a computer science class to graduate, yet there are few resources in place to ensure that teachers can successfully deliver the instruction,\u201d says Emily Fishkind, a senior product manager in Microsoft Digital Employee Experience. \u201cMicrosoft’s TEALS program strives to address this ever-growing need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eleven years ago, the Microsoft Philanthropies team at Microsoft adopted TEALS, a potent, tiny project piloted in a single school. The dream was to help bring computer science education to as many high schools as possible. However, the tool to manage such a prodigious expansion didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

Building scalability on Microsoft Azure<\/h2>\n

Kip Fern, now a senior program manager lead in the Microsoft Philanthropies Operations team, was one of the original TEALS classroom volunteers. He got tapped with driving the design of TOP, a highly customized solution built on Microsoft Azure for regional managers to run TEALS. Over the next few years, new features and improvements would continue to be implemented by the team itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program would change and add new requirements, which made us add new features on a continuous basis,\u201d Fern says.<\/p>\n

But there came a point at which modification wouldn\u2019t suffice\u2014the program was growing too fast, and TOP needed to be reinvented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis growth paired with our inability to scale within our legacy system, posed significant risk to the overall efficiency of our regional managers\u2019 day-to-day operations,\u201d Fishkind says. \u201cShifting to the new architecture not only addresses compliance issues, but it also helps our primary customers\u2014the folks who make the TEALS program run\u2014more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three years ago, Microsoft leadership called to extend the reach of TEALS to over 600 new school focused on African American students, but, for multiple reasons, legacy TOP couldn\u2019t support the directive.<\/p>\n

TOP was about to be outdated and out of support; it had more than 500 bugs, and accessibility improvements were needed. Furthermore, it couldn\u2019t perform well with all the data it was handling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe TOP legacy system was at risk of breaking down, posing significant risk to the program\u2019s operations along with system security, reliability, and availability,\u201d Fishkind says.<\/p>\n

Importantly, it couldn\u2019t scale.<\/p>\n

The original TOP that had enabled the program\u2019s early development was now holding it back from further growth and impact.<\/p>\n

Architecting TOP vNext<\/h2>\n
\"Fern
Kip Fern helped design the highly customized solution that regional managers used to run TEALS. He’s a senior program manager lead in the Microsoft Philanthropies Operations team.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The latest version, called TOP vNext, was designed with microservices architecture, a style in which each service is separated based on its need. With this structure, Microsoft Digital is building scalability on Microsoft Azure for each service independently. The admin service, the school service, and the volunteer service, as examples, are deployed on cloud and have their own backend database within Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB. Within a fraction of a millisecond, they can scale to multiple regions and maintain 100 percent availability.<\/p>\n

The adoption of microservices architecture in TOP vNext protects TEALS from the risk of total system breakdown, offering a more resilient and stable system. Shankaran describes legacy TOP as an outdated system posing security risks by comparison.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe traditional monolithic architecture, where a single malfunction could cause a complete system failure, has become obsolete,\u201d Shankaran says. \u201cWith microservices, TEALS is now immune to total system breakdowns as each component operates independently and can continue functioning even if one component experiences issues. This independence not only increases system reliability but also facilitates efficient testing and maintenance processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

With its robust utilization of Microsoft Azure Service Bus and other cutting-edge internal message handlers, TOP vNext creates an impermeable bridge between the system and external platforms like WordPress TEALSK12. This convenient and intuitive application serves as the central hub for regional managers, empowering them to effortlessly monitor, update, and access critical information in real-time, all through a seamless exchange of data facilitated by seamless message communication across all systems.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is absolutely better; it is faster; it is more resilient. It has a cleaner user interface now.<\/p>\n

\u2014Kip Fern, senior program manager lead, Operations, Microsoft Philanthropies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The sheer size of the TEALS data set requires optimal performance when loading on the grid. TOP vNext meets this demand by leveraging the power of Microsoft Azure Cognitive Search, which delivers lightning-fast API response times in under a millisecond. This ensures seamless and efficient access to the vast amounts of data at the heart of the TEALS system.<\/p>\n

With Microsoft Azure DevOps, they also achieved zero-touch deployment for these resources, including Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, IT, app services, and all the microservices.<\/p>\n

Benefits of the new TOP<\/h2>\n

Everything about the new program is better.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is absolutely better; it is faster; it is more resilient,\u201d Fern says. \u201cIt has a cleaner user interface now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scalability for TEALS is more possible than ever. With improved UI, performance, and efficiency, TOP vNext gives regional managers more time to incorporate new schools and enhance curricula, and the new TOP can handle the increase in data.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s blazing fast,\u201d Shankaran says.<\/p>\n

The substantial and ever-increasing data doesn\u2019t bog down the speed of the tool. Now that TOP is faster and has better UI, regional managers can spend less time on tooling, and the time savings translates to more students benefiting from the program.<\/p>\n

\"Map
The TEALS program is present in more than 500 high schools across the United States and British Columbia, Canada.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, TEALS has a steady state of over 500 schools with 1,500 volunteers every single year. There are around 40 regional managers around the United States supporting between 15 to 30 schools apiece including the classroom teachers, school principals, volunteers, and summer training for the volunteers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a regional manager can do one more school, that means on average we’ll impact 2,425 more students each year,\u201d Fern says.<\/p>\n

TOP is engineered to meet our scaling needs. It\u2019s now a high performing system that simplifies our regional manager experience.<\/p>\n

\u2014Ganesh Shankaran, principal software engineering lead, Microsoft Digital<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As TOP vNext can handle more data, regional managers can now support as many schools as they want.<\/p>\n

Over time, Microsoft Digital and TEALS will be able to add new features to TOP in harmony with the feedback received from stakeholders. There\u2019s an ever-flowing possibility for iteration with the new TOP platform, which includes a feedback mechanism between TEALS volunteers, regional managers, and stakeholders.<\/p>\n

\u201cTOP is engineered to meet our scaling needs,\u201d Shankaran says. \u201cIt\u2019s now a high performing system that simplifies our regional manager experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great example of what you can do with Microsoft Azure, he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts cognitive capability is playing a big part in bringing these experiences alive.”<\/p>\n

\"Key<\/figure>\n