The partnership between Code.org, the Alaska Staff Development Network & the Alaska Council of School Administrators works to expand access to high-quality professional learning for educators interested in teaching computer science in schools throughout Alaska.
What is Code.org?
- Code.org is a national non-profit that believes that every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science, just like biology, chemistry or algebra.
- Code.org is the organization behind the Hour of Code, completed by over 600 million students in 180 countries.
- Code.org’s professional development workshops were developed to empower teachers from every type of background to be able to teach computer science and support computational thinking.
- Code.org has partnered with more than 120 school districts and 700,000 teachers use their K-12 curriculum. All curriculum is available online at no cost.
Why Teach Computer Science?
Computer science helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic, collaboration and creativity. These skills will open doors in every field. Students will gain an opportunity to create technology that will solve problems in their communities and in the world. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path.
According to the latest statistics, computing occupations are now the number one source of all new wages in the U.S. and comprise 58% of all projected new jobs in STEM fields, making Computer Science one of the most in-demand college degrees. Nationally, 9 in 10 parents want their child to study computer science, but less than half of all schools teach computer programming.
Alaska Currently has over 1,000 computing job openings with an average salary of $81,560
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has made computer science a priority area of growth by passing computer science standards in 2019.
How Does this Partnership Benefit Alaska’s Teachers and Students
Code.org is providing scholarships to Alaska teachers to participate in professional development that explains how to use the Code.org curriculum.
This professional learning will give educators the tools they need to bring computer science learning into their classroom—even if they are new to computer science. The Code.org curriculum is free, thus creating the opportunity to offer computer science courses and lessons at all levels in every school in Alaska.
With the support of our industry and educational partners, we are excited to help elementary, middle and high school students gain foundational computer science knowledge.
For more information, contact Cheryl Bobo: cbobo@alaskaacsa.org.
I am seriously having SO MUCH FUN with this class. I’m so proud of how hard the kids are working…THANK YOU for putting this all together for the teachers! – CS Principles Teacher in Yakutat.
Thank you to our sponsors!
