Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks as the players of the United States Women's Soccer team celebrate in front of City Hall when he hosts a Canyon of Heroines Ticker-Tape Parade and Celebration in honor of their victory in the FIFA World Championship in New York City on July 10. Wednesday, de Blasio announced a new initiative to bring computer science education to every public school in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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NEW YORK, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- In the coming decade, all of New York City's 1.1 million public school students will have access to computer science education, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday.
The program, called "Computer Science for All: Fundamentals for Our Future," is aimed at preparing students for the future careers. The $81 million public-private partnership is expected to bring computer sciences to every one of the some 1,800 public schools in the city, whether the students are learning to build robots or understand basic programming languages.
"The city's investment of $40 million will unlock $40 million from our partners in the private sector," city leaders said. "This will make New York City the largest school district in the country to provide computer science education to all students, in all public schools."
The goal is for all students, even those in elementary and in the poorest neighborhood schools, to have some exposure to computer science, building a stronger workforce that has a larger number of minority and female employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts by 2020, there will be 1 million more computer-science related jobs.
New York City joins at least two other American cities that have recently committed to computer science education for all students. Chicago pledged to make a yearlong computer science course a high school graduation requirement by 2018 and to offer computer science to at least a quarter of elementary school students by then. In June, San Francisco educators voted to offer computer science from preschool through high school, making it mandatory through eighth grade.
A recent survey through Gallup and Google showed that schools across the nation are lacking in computer science education, despite the explosive growth in technology and the increasing demand for high-paying computer science jobs.
While a majority of parents, teachers and principals agree computer science education is necessary, a quarter of schools nationwide offer it. So far, 26 states across the nation count computer science programs toward a math or science graduation requirement.
"Given the tendency to prioritize subjects that are included in required testing, computer science is not a top priority in many schools and districts, particularly those with fewer students and those in rural areas," the poll found. "Less than half of principals and superintendents surveyed say their school board thinks offering computer science education is important."
