Commitment to Coding

President Barack Obama announces a plan to help students learn computer science

ANYA SEMENOFF—THE DENVER POST/GETTY IMAGES

Boris Cochajil, 14, works on a DVD cover project during the computer art lab portion of job training at Downtown Aurora Visual Arts in Aurora, Colorado. 

Following up on a proposal he made during his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced on January 30 his new Computer Science for All initiative. The $4 billion plan aims to fulfill Obama’s commitment to “offer every student the hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one,” as he described in his annual speech to Congress.

The CS for All initiative is intended to provide every student between kindergarten and 12th grade with computer science education. The $4 billion would be distributed to states over three years, with $100 million going directly to school districts, to train teachers and purchase high-quality instructional materials. 

“In the new economy, computer science isn’t an optional skill—it’s a basic skill, right along with the three ‘R’s,’ ” Obama said in his weekly radio address on January 30. 

A Growing Need

According to a statement released by the White House, while more than 90% of parents say they want their children to have computer science courses, only about 25% of schools in the United States offer quality coding and programming classes. In 22 states, computer science classes are not allowed to count towards high school graduation. At the same time, a growing number of jobs require computer science skills, including those in industries such as transportation, education, and health care. And there is a shortage of people who are qualified for the jobs. Last year, more than 600,000 high-paying tech jobs in the U.S. went unfilled. Experts predict that in the next two years, more than half of all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) jobs will involve computer science.

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President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on January 12 in Washington, D.C.

The initiative is also designed to promote diversity in the tech industry. In 2015, only 22% of students who took the Advanced Placement Computer Science test were female. Only 13% of students who took the test were either African American or Latino. These percentages carried over to employees at big tech companies. Mandatory computer science classes, it is hoped, will encourage more students from all different backgrounds to confidently pursue technology driven careers.

How is this like what you did for Mrs. Sanchez in the computer lab? Do you think it is related to the article?