Equipment Checkout System wins Rep. Greg Stanton’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Arizona’s Fourth District
Rep. Greg Stanton has named Zander Coffman of Desert Vista High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Arizona’s Fourth District. Their app Equipment Checkout System is designed to help alleviate many of the stressors that renting items from a school takes on teachers and the students, especially as taking district equipment is a demanding, exigence-filled process.
When asked what inspired the creation of Equipment Checkout System, Zander Coffman said, “Imagine being a CTE photography teacher, and it takes you around 30 minutes out of an hour to make one rental for, say, a camera. One. Singular. Rental. It’s not imaginary; it’s the reality of a teacher, and others like them today, who reached out to me for help. That’s what I want to solve. Classrooms should be about giving full attention to helping students reach their maximum potential, and any sidetracks cause a huge flaw in those classrooms. In fact, estimated times can take up to around 45 hours a year spent alone on just checking in and out items. That missed time is what I want to target and give back to the teachers, and is what inspired me to create this app. Overall, what inspired me to create the Equipment Checkout System is giving power back to not only stressed-out teachers, but most importantly, to students to help them reach their full potential in classes.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.