Dive Brief:
- President Barack Obama's new "Computer Science for All" initiative, included in his 2017 budget proposal, calls for a $4 billion commitment to computer science education in K-12.
- The budget proposal also calls on the National Science Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service to spend upwards of $135 million on computer science-related teacher training.
- Right now, the New York Times reports, just 25% of U.S. elementary, middle, and high schools offer computer science classes.
Dive Insight:
The president's new initiative is likely thrilling to those in the soaring ed-tech industry, where investment last year reached a peak high of $1.85 billion, as such an initiative is sure to require new platforms and tools in the classroom.
The suggested spending also comes as coding and computer science are becoming a mainstay in several states' K-12 curricula. In Arizona, the Avondale Elementary school district near Phoenix has joined ranks with Chicago, New York, and San Francisco in a commitment to teaching computer science to students. There, computer science is already being incorporated as a mandatory staple in K-8.
But change isn't occurring at such a brisk pace everywhere. New York City, for example, has a 10-year rollout plan for its incorporation of computer science content. Making the initiatives work, of course, requires that districts pay attention to a variety of variables, from teacher training to curriculum design.
As of 2014, more than 60 school districts, including Houston and Los Angeles, had committed to offering computer science, and Arkansas and Washington state both require that computer science classes be offered to students. If the president's new initiative finds Congressional support, that number is likely to explode.
