Dive Brief:
- It's been nine months since Google launched its coding program, CS First, and the tech giant could be poised to gain a lead in teaching kids to code.
- Today, 70% of the program's 27,000 participants are females and/or minorities, according to EdSurge.
- It's not just numbers that have been successful, though, as Ed Surge reports that the CS First plan (which focuses on after-school and summer coding programs) has additionally made some updates to better integrate into a classroom setting.
Dive Insight:
According to Ed Surge, Google has expanded its CS First curriculum and is doing more to help schools find "gurus" (aka mentors) to run the programs.
The need for computer science skills and coding classes has become increasingly important. In December, Education Week analyzed data from the 2014 Advanced Placement computer science exam and found that some states didn't have a single minority student taking the exam. Montana was the most extreme case, where neither a minority or female student sat for the exam.
Low minority and female participation has led to a surge in programs like CS First that aim to engage these demographics. Take, for example, Girls Who Code. In December, the non-profit announced that is was expanding in order to accommodate more girls. A big impetus for this push is the fact that Silicon Valley and various tech-dominated companies lack these demographics. According to Girls Who Code, only 15% of Google's tech workers and 17% of those at Facebook are women.
