Dive Brief:

• Oracle announced a $200 million donation in support of the Obama administration's $4 billion computer science initiative in K-12 schools.
• The donation, which includes in-kind support, will be distributed over the next 18 months as part of the Computer Science for All initiative announced by President Barack Obama in January 2016.
• Other tech companies including Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and code.org have also supported the initiative; Google has already promised $23 million.

Dive Insight:

President Obama's $4 billion initiative to boost computer science literacy in U.S. elementary and secondary schools is meant to bring skills like coding into classrooms. It earmarks $100 million for districts to expand computer science instruction by providing more resources for training teachers, expanding access to high-quality instructional materials and building regional partnerships. By 2018, 51% of all STEM jobs are projected to be in computer science-related fields.

Some experts say coding instruction should start for students as young as five. In San Francisco, CS initiatives start in preschool. Research from the National Assessment of Educational Progress has shown the achievement and confidence gap in science and math begins widening between ages 9 and 10.