Beginning the 2019-20 School Year

Opinion | 13 Aug 2019

It is August and soon school will be in session for all Kentucky students.  How many of these students are taking computer science? How many of these students have the opportunity to take computer science?

It is important to remember that computer science and computer applications are not the same thing.  For example, learning Microsoft Office, though important, is not the same as computer science. Computational thinking skills such as abstraction and algorithm are not included in such classes.

What can we do as individuals and organizations to help ensure that all Kentucky schools offer computer science curriculum? Numerous states have begun to pursue nine specific policy ideas developed by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition to expand access to K-12 computer science for all students.  These nine points are on the CS4KY website - just click Advocacy in the main menu. Should Kentucky strive to meet all nine points? If not, which ones do not fit? If so, which needs to be addressed of the ones we don’t already meet?

Photo by Denisse Leon on Unsplash