Dear Suncoast Developers Guild community members;

Right now, we are all experiencing something very new and, frankly, kind of terrifying. For many of us, it’s changing our way of life. Suncoast Developers Guild (SDG) feels very fortunate to have fantastic community members, students, alums, and staff as part of our family. We hope that you are all staying healthy and safe during this time.

We want to keep you informed about the steps that we are taking to help protect our students and the community. On March 13, we announced to our students and staff that we would be extending our policy of following the Pinellas County Schools Board’s closures for weather emergencies to all emergencies, including health. We couldn’t be sure if this were an overreaction at the time, but it was a step we felt confident making to keep everyone safe and healthy for as long as possible.

“Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after will seem inadequate.” - Michael Leavitt, Former US Secretary of Health and Human Services

While our campus is closed, we’ve taken our programs online. Thankfully, these days we have access to technology that allows us to keep in contact with our students and help them as they move forward in their education. Cohort 17 has proven to us that they will not be held back or run from a challenge, and we are there to help them every step of the way.

While we are hoping to be able to return to campus as soon as possible, we understand that social distancing and keeping everyone safe is the higher priority.

“In the end, it will be impossible to know if we overreacted or did too much, but it will be quite apparent if we under-reacted or did too little.” - Robyn Tannehill, Mayor of Oxford, MS

May 1, 2020, is our next Demo Day. We are excited to introduce you all to these fantastic developers. May feels so close yet so far away, and we know we cannot guarantee what will happen in the weeks ahead. We are already looking into additional options so you can meet our graduates, celebrate their success, and see the projects they are working so hard to build.

We will do everything we can to continue to keep you updated on our plans as we carefully follow guidance from local health authorities. This blog post will reflect any updates to our policies and actions we take.

Stay Gold,

Jason L Perry CEO @ Suncoast Developers Guild