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A strong partnership between the West Virginia University Center for Excellence in STEM Education and the West Virginia Department of Education, along with rigorous statewide computer standards, has accelerated the states number of computer science classes offered in K-12 classrooms by 30percentin two years, according to a national report released today (Nov. 3).

Since summer 2018, the CE-STEMs CodeWV program has reached 875 teachers in 52 of the states 55 counties. Breaking down the numbers, 646 elementary, 141 middle and 88 high school teachers in 307 schools have completed CodeWVs professional learning workshops, according to the 2021 State of Computer Science Education: Accelerating Action Through Advocacy report. Enrollment for the free workshops remains open and is ongoing.

The report shows that 76percent of West Virginias public high schools now offer at least one foundational computer science course, up from 46percentin 2018-2019. This 30percentbump in just two years has catapulted the Mountain State into the top 10 states for the percentage of high schools offering computer science statewide.

Todays fastest growing, highest-paying careers require computer science skills, said Gay Stewart, the Centers director. Every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science so theyre prepared and empowered to fill these in-demand jobs if they so choose.

Stewart said that the fastest way to increase computer science education is by training West Virginias teachers so they, in turn, can provide age-appropriate curriculum to their students.

Superintendent Clayton Burch is pleased with the states progress.

Todays success reflects the combined and consistent focus our state has placed on computer science education, said State Superintendent of Schools W. Clayton Burch The real champions are the teachers, students, school districts, parents, computer science advocates and lawmakers who have helped expose computer science curriculum at all education levels, Burch said. Emphasizing these opportunities early in our students education will open more doors to good-paying, lifelong careers that require these technical, problem-solving skillsets.

The 2021 State of Computer Science Education data also reports that 30% of West Virginia students enrolled in computer science are female, close to the national average of 31percent, and 41percentof the states students enrolled in computer science are economically disadvantaged, better than the national statistics (38percent) but still short of CodeWV and WVDE goals.

Looking ahead to 2022, Stewart said that ongoing efforts will focus on increasing access for rural and low-income students and boosting existing STEM programs and partnerships across the state.

The 2021 State of Computer Science report is published annually by Code.org, the Computer Science Teachers Association and the Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance.

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Partnership advances K-12 classrooms computer science classes to among the top in the nation - Beckley Register-Herald

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Access to computer science courses in high schools has jumped significantly over the past three yearsfrom 35 percent to 51 percent, concludes a new study by the nonprofit Code.org.

But access to those courses still remains uneven in many places. Rural and urban schools, and schools that serve a high percentage of kids from low-income families are less likely to offer foundational computer science.

Were thrilled to see that just over half of schools offer computer science classes, said Katie Hendrickson, president of the Code.org advocacy coalition and director of state government affairs. The nonprofit champions access to computer science. But then at the same time, we can also look at it the other way and think, well, thats only half. Theres still half of schools that dont offer it.

Black, Latino, and Native American students are more likely to attend a school that doesnt offer foundational computer science. For instance, 73 percent of Black students nationally and 76 percent of Latino kids go to a school that offers foundational computer science, compared with 79 percent of White students and 89 percent of Asian students.

Overall, the proportion of Black and Native American students in computer science classes is close to the percentage of those groups in the overall public high school population in the 35 states included in the report. For instance, about 15 percent of public high-schoolers in the 35 states that provided data to Code.org are Black, while 16 percent of the kids in foundational computer science courses are Black. Native American and Native Alaskan kids make up about 1 percent of the public high school population in the studied states, and 1.2 percent of those in computer science classes.

Theres an imbalance, though, between the percentage of Latino students in high school and the percentage of Latino students in foundational computer science courses. Latinos make up 26 percent of the public high school population in the states in the study, but just 19 percent of high schoolers enrolled in foundational computer sciences classes. In fact, Latino students are 1.4 times less likely than their White and Asian peers to enroll in foundational computer science, even if they attend a school that offers the subject, the report notes.

Students from economically disadvantaged households make up 52 percent of kids in K-12 schools, but just 38 percent of high school students enrolled in foundational computer science in 34 states that provided data on low-income students taking the subject.

English-language learners comprise 10 percent of the K-12 population, but just 6 percent of high schoolers taking computer science classes in 33 states that provided data on that population to Code.org. And students eligible for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act make up 14 percent of all K-12 students but only 9 percent are taking foundational computer sciences courses in 31 states able to provide that information to Code.org.

Those gaps are beginning to close, said Hendrickson, but its imperative that states and schools continue to push for greater equity in computer science access.

We believe that every student should have the opportunity to learn whatever they want and to go into whatever field they choose, Hendrickson said. Its really the American dream, right? We need to give those students that opportunity with computer science.

She added that computer science jobs are among the best-paying, and, increasingly, can be done from anywhere in the country, as tech companies expand remote working opportunities.

However, there are still major gaps among states in the percentage of schools that provide foundational computer science. In at least three statesArkansas, Maryland, and South Carolina90 percent or more of high-schools offer the instruction. But in Kansas and Louisiana, fewer than one-third of high schools offer the classes.

The three top states have all adopted at least seven of Code.orgs nine policy recommendations for improving access to computer science classes. Those policies include steps like establishing rigorous computer science standards, allocating funding for computer science teacher professional learning, and requiring that all high schools offer computer science.

The access data in those states offers clear evidence that policy really matters, Hendrickson said. State leadership and state investments in computer science are really what matter in getting computer science across the board and ensuring that every student has access.

Skeptics about the importance of integrating computer science education heavily into K-12 learning often argue that other subjects should be given higher priority. They point out that coding skills, for instance, may become much less valued in the workplace as those skills are replaced by machines.

But Hendrickson sees it differently. The way, computer science is taught in K-12 is more about just understanding how to think logically and sequentially, she said. We dont want to box our students into having to learn very specific programming languages that might not be relevant in a couple of years.

Instead, courses should focus on, how to think through problems like a computer, which can help build critical thinking and other skills, she said.

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More Than Half of High Schools Now Offer Computer Science, But Inequities Persist - Education Week

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The University of Utah claimed its spot in tech history as one of the four original nodes of the computer network that later evolved into the internet.

But 50 years later, the states flagship school doesnt have any dedicated space for the thousands of students who want to study computer science and be part of the next big development.

We have students interested, and graduates are really in demand, said Richard Brown, dean of the U.s College of Engineering, which includes the School of Computing. We just dont have adequate places to put them so that they can learn.

Its an acute problem for the biggest major on campus and in a state where the tech economy is the fastest growing in the country, according to one recent report. With the expansion of Silicon Slopes, its become a $20-billion-a-year industry here.

We certainly dont want to limit the number of students, Brown added.

The U. is working on a solution now that, like a computer, will involve some 1s and 0s. It announced last week that it received a $15 million donation as the starting funds to construct a $120 million building to finally house computer science students, giving them their own space for the first time decades after the university connected to the ARPANET in 1969.

(University of Utah) This is an initial building design for a new home for computer science students at the University of Utah.

The historic gift is the largest ever for the College of Engineering, coming from the prominent Price family known for its business acumen, whose patriarch is also an engineering alumnus (as well as a former U.S. ambassador).

We are pleased to lend our support to this effort that is so crucial to Utahs expanding economy, John Price said in a statement, with the funds coming jointly from him and his wife, Marcia.

The demand for graduates is so high, in fact, that Utah Valley University followed the announcement by unveiling its own competitive plans days later to also build a new engineering building on its campus in Orem. And thats still not enough to fill all the open jobs here in the field.

Together, the U. and UVU have about 3,400 computer science students with the U. having the larger share of 2,000 of those.

The fundraising campaign there will be led by three notable engineering alumni who have left their marks: John Warnock of Adobe, Ed Catmull of Pixar and Shane Robison, who has led at Apple, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard and Fusion-io.

The hope is that the next and bigger generation of computer science students wont be completing their studies in random rooms across campus like they did.

Last fall, the introductory computer programming class at the U. had 465 students. That was a record until this fall.

This semester, there are 696 students enrolled. Thats a 50% increase an additional 231 students interested in the program in just one years time, Brown said.

Its really exponential growth, he added. It keeps getting bigger and bigger every year.

The school has an engineering building named after Warnock that was built in 2007. Thats filled up by the six other engineering departments in the college (apart from computer science), which also have all expanded.

The computer science students were using the 61-year-old Merrill Engineering Building, but its literally falling apart and the classrooms are much too small. Graduate students in the program continue to use those making do with space that predates the World Wide Web with up to 200 students in a class.

(University of Utah) This archive photo from 1970 shows the computer center of the University of Utah. In 1969, the university became one of the four original nodes of the ARPANET, the computer network that eventually spawned the Internet of today.

But the undergraduate cohort has completely outgrown it. So they have been shuffled off to other classrooms across campus, mostly in the social and behavioral health building.

The auditoriums still arent big enough there, either even with the group split in half. Students are sitting on the floor and in the aisles to fit in, Brown said. The collapsible tables, meant for taking notes, also dont have enough space to put a computer making them pretty much moot for the work theyre doing. And the technology connections there are older than anything theyre studying.

Its just a mess, Brown said. Its not working. We need space. Were out of space.

The computer science and computer engineering programs there, combined, enroll nearly 2,000 students total. (Computer engineering overlaps with some of the computer science classes, so theyre often counted together though they are separate fields.)

Some students are getting frustrated and dropping the program or transferring because they cant get into classes or they cant learn effectively even when they do. And there are more students that have expressed interest, too, but have held off. Its stymying.

Even with the limitations, the U. still graduates the most tech workers of any higher education institution in the state. Of the eight public colleges and universities here, it accounts for 46% of the degrees in computer science or computer engineering.

UVU comes in close, with 1,435 students, combined, in computer science and engineering technology. It has another 830 students in information systems and technology and technology management.

Both schools believe expanding and creating space for those students will allow them to excel and attract more to a field hungry for software programmers and technicians.

The way Brown sees it, its a cycle that wont stop turning any time soon.

The more students we graduate in this field, the more the industry hires, the more the companies grow and the more graduates they need, he said.

Brown said students being cramped or pushed aside doesnt serve the states economy and the talent thirsty tech businesses that are increasingly driving it. That has shifted immensely in the last 15 to 20 years. And Brown thinks it will grow even bigger and faster in the next decade.

A report this year from Cyberstates, which monitors the industry across the country, shows that Utahs tech sector accounts for 12% of the states economy and 10% of the workforce employing 152,000 people, including accountants and managers and sales people, in addition to engineers.

It also cites Utahs Silicon Slopes in Utah County as the fastest growing tech sector in the nation. This year alone, it is expected to expand by 6%. There are currently 8,132 businesses.

Brown said hes talked with tech leaders here who have told him theyre starting offices in other states or recruiting for employees elsewhere because they cant find enough in Utah. There are 4,000 unfilled positions here, according to UVU, with four times as many jobs as there are computer science graduates each year in the state.

Silicon Slopes leaders, for their part, have pushed for more computer science education.

It actually becomes a constraint on the growth of companies here, Brown said. And we can help. Its an exciting time to be in engineering and computer science and in Utah.

Work still needs to be done to diversify the workforce and bring in other voices to tech. Utahs computer science workers are 1% Black, compared to 2% in other occupations; 7% Latino, compared to 13%; and 21% women compared to 46%, according to Cyberstates.

Brown said that will be a large part of the initiative to expand.

At UVU, a $25 million donation for its building is coming from Scott Smith, the co-founder of Qualtrics, a Provo-based customer-experience software vendor, along with his wife, Karen. (The other co-founder of Qualtrics is Ryan Smith, now the owner of the Utah Jazz basketball team).

UVU President Astrid Tuminez said in a statement that the generosity will benefit thousands of students many yet to be born. They will change peoples lives and help fill a critical need to increase the number of engineers in Utah now and in the future.

The Orem university also said that space is a premium there, with hallways being converted into meeting spaces for computer science students and professors and no real spaces designed for the technology they need and use.

(Utah Valley University) An initial rendering of the new engineering building that will come to Utah Valley University, with construction expected to be done by fall 2025.

With a new building on its campus, the U. anticipates it will be able to double its number of computer science and engineering graduates, with 3,200 for the first year the new space is open an expected completion timeline is set for fall 2024. It will include a financial technology center and an area specializing in cyber security. (It currently has a data science center that has no home.)

There will also be more opportunities to learn about artificial intelligence and robotics, seen as the next frontier in the business.

UVUs building will likely open a year later, in fall 2025. Both schools will seek funding from the state Legislature, as well as from donors.

That means, for both schools, there will be one more freshman class likely finishing their degrees before the construction is complete.

Still, it fulfills a mission that the state really started investing in at the start of 2000, Brown said, under then-Gov. Mike Leavitt who famously vowed to spend more time in Silicon Valley then, studying how it was structured, than the governor of California did.

At that time, Leavitt sat down with Warnock, who was working there, and asked how to make Utah just as attractive for the industry. Warnock pushed the governor to focus on education for computer science. Student interest tripled from then to today. (Even Warnock moved back here.)

Now, they just need more space to teach them.

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$15 million to the University of Utah and $25 million to Utah Valley University will expand computer science programs - Salt Lake Tribune

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