National Governors Association announces initiative to expand computer science opportunities
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Governor’s Compact is an effort to make computer science part of more states’ education systems.
This week, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced his Governors’ Compact as part of the initiative for computer science in his role as chairman of the National Governors Association.
The compact, an effort for all governors to make computer science a key part of their state education policy and system, supports the five goals for the Chairman’s Initiative:
- To increase the number of high schools offering computer science classes
- To increase the number of governors who are members of Governors for CS
- To increase the amount of state funding for computer science education
- To increase the number of states requiring at least one computer science credit for high school graduation
- To increase the diversity of students participating in computer science education
“My goal is to see computer science being offered in every school, in every grade, to every student across this nation.” — Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
Governor Jared Polis of Colorado also offered remarks on the importance of computer science in schools: “What could be more important to the future…to our entire country of being competitive in preparing the next generation of kids for the jobs of the future, many of which touch areas of computer science?”
“The commonality we see with states that have led the way in terms of computer science access for students is leadership. Through this initiative, these governors will be at the forefront of the skills and knowledge students will need to be successful. We applaud that commitment,” said Sean Roberts, Vice President of Government Affairs for Code.org.
Computing jobs continue to be the number one source of all new jobs in the U.S., and project to grow at twice the rate of all other jobs. By providing more opportunities for students in computer science, governors are committing to their state’s future workforce, economy, and security.
Additionally, six different studies show that computer science helps students outperform in school and college — including learning executive and problem-solving skills and correlations with higher math, science, and reading scores.
Want to help? Take action today and ask your governor to commit to the initiative here.
—The Code.org Team
