 When students first walk into the Tech Flex Leaders (TFL) program, they arrive with curiosity and some nerves. By the time they graduate, they’ve experienced a major shift. They're building real products, networking confidently with industry professionals, and mapping futures that felt out of reach just a year before.
This past year, America On Tech's (AOT) 2025–2026 Tech Flex Leaders program empowered 452 students across New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami with the technical skills, mentorship, and real-world experience needed to lead in the innovation economy. By the NumbersThe data tells a consistent story across all three cities. Among our program graduates:
New York City: Scale, Community, and BelongingNYC's 2025-2026 cohort was the largest in program history - 281 students from 103 high schools across the five boroughs. Sustained attendance, strong technical gains, and survey results that reflect a genuine community of trust made this one of the program's most successful cycles to date.
Every spring track boasted double-digit gains. Every student who came in curious left with concrete skills and a clearer path forward.
The survey results also reflected a community of trust. 96% of graduates said staff and mentors were positive role models. 92% felt part of a community that genuinely cared about their well-being. As one graduate put it: "Because of the safe space that this program provides, I am able to comfortably ask questions." Of NYC's 143 graduating seniors, the college outlook is striking:
Los Angeles: Heart, Hustle, and Student OwnershipLA graduated 94 students from 58 high schools - and posted some of the strongest student experience scores in the program's history.
The LA team was committed to student ownership this year. Students selected both Community Engagement events by vote, and the Analog Day scavenger hunt - themed around reconnecting in person - became one of the year's most talked-about moments. Four students attended both community events and earned inaugural Community Star Awards at TFL Graduation. This honor celebrates their commitment to building community, in class and beyond.
Of LA's graduating seniors,
Miami: Tight-Knit, High-Achieving, Built on ConnectionMiami's results display the strength of AOT’s programs! Of our 37 graduates:
Miami's team built a genuine community across virtual and in-person settings - enjoying a Jack-o-Lantern Jamboree and a Field Day Fest at Amelia Earhart Park as their community events. Graduates also boasted incredible academic gains, displaying the power of inclusivity:
AI-Ready and Future-FocusedThis year, TFL wove artificial intelligence into programming across all tracks - and graduates left with confidence and competence in this rapidly-expanding technology. Across all three cities,
The program isn't just teaching students to use AI - it's building the critical thinkers the industry actually needs to impact the future of technology. Students Said it BestOur data tells a story and identifies clear, positive trends - our students enjoyed the program, and grew a ton from it. Student testimonials doubled down on our findings:
Peer Mentors: The Full-Circle EffectAOT’s commitment to students extends beyond our high school programs. 33 peer mentors across all three cities - recent AOT alumni stepping back into the program as near-peer guides - shaped the student experience and transformed their own. Every single Peer Mentor said they would return to the role.
Across all three cities, 96%+ of students viewed staff, instructors, and peer mentors as positive role models. These young mentors didn't just support the program - they were central to what made the program work for students. 
367 graduates. Three cities. Hundreds of high schools. A theory of change that the data keeps proving. We couldn’t be more proud! To the Class of 2025–2026: you did that. We can't wait to see what you build next! The next cohort starts soon367 students proved this year what's possible when young people from underestimated communities are given the tools, mentorship, and belief they deserve. Help us do it again!
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 The future of tech is not built in boardrooms. It is built in the moments when a young person discovers what they are capable of, finds a community that believes in them, and decides to stop waiting for an invitation. In Atlanta this year, 50 students stopped waiting. They showed up, built something real, and left with a vision of their future that no one can take from them.
In AOT's inaugural year in Atlanta, the TECH360 "Intro to AI" Program graduated 50 students across two cohorts, established a replicable recruitment model, and students engaged with technologists from JPMorgan Chase, Warner Bros. Discovery, Snowflake, and Grainger. Every program graduate left with foundational AI skills, a professional network they built themselves, and the kind of confidence that extends well beyond the classroom. A Program Built for ImpactFall 2025 was the proof of concept. Spring 2026 was the proof of scale.
We launched our first Atlanta program in Fall 2025 wanting to build meaningful outcomes and greater interest for the TECH360 program. The results answered clearly. Technical assessment scores jumped 47% from pre- to post-program. Every graduate reported high satisfaction with their experience and left with a working knowledge of generative AI including its applications, strengths, risks, and limitations. Students did not just learn AI theories, they built with it. Teams developed AI-powered chatbots addressing real-world challenges, from sustainable living to travel planning. Graduates then presented their work at Atlanta's Future Innovators Night, in front of community members, families, and corporate partners. For many, this was the first time on a stage of that kind. For the second cohort, the impact was even greater. Spring enrollment grew to 34 graduates. Technical assessment scores climbed to 66% (19 points higher than the first cohort). And graduates built a lasting professional network. This second cohort also welcomed its first Peer Mentor, Christie, an AOT Miami graduate and Emory University junior studying Applied Mathematics and Neuroscience. Her presence in the classroom represented something important: proof that the program's impact compounds over time, and that AOT alumni return to invest in the students who come after them. What Students Actually Walk Away WithIn TECH360, technical skills and critical thinking aren't separate tracks; they're the same lesson. Students learn how generative AI works, how to evaluate its outputs, and how to wrestle with the ethical questions that come with using it. By graduation, they can articulate both the promise and the risk of a technology reshaping every industry they might enter.
They also leave with something harder to measure: a professional network built through real interaction with people already working in the field.
Career Days brought students face-to-face with professionals from JPMorgan Chase and Warner Bros. Discovery. The "Life of a Technologist" immersive event at JPMorgan Chase brought students face-to-face with early-career technologists who shared their backgrounds, navigated similar paths, and were invested in holding the door open for the students who came after them.
Making Waves Across Atlanta
Year One Was Just the Beginning
This program is made possible through the support of national and local funders committed to expanding access to high-quality technology education. Funders of the Atlanta TECH360 program include Citi Foundation, Comcast NBCUniversal, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, New Profit, Salesforce, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Year two starts now. Be Part of What Comes Next
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