Decoding Why Coding Matters

By Rebecca Dovi

Anyone can code. We believe every child in Virginia deserves the opportunity to learn this important 21st century literacy skill. Education and industry leaders seek to increase STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, but without also teaching students computer science, these efforts are a bit like teaching works of classic literature to students who have not yet been taught to read.

Even as CodeVA brings computer science into schools, we also are bringing computer science to the kids of Virginia though engaging events, camps and programs.  Through generous donations from local businesses.  While we often look to New York and Silicon Valley when we think of computers, the fact is the highest concentration of computer science jobs are right here in Virginia.   

We're seeding Virginia for entrepreneurship and business. The only way for all kids to have access to computer science is through partnerships with business, schools, colleges and local communities across the state. We are working with policymakers, actively engaging them to educate them about what Computer Science is and what it does for industry, economic development and community wealth building.  Virginia is starting a dialog about why we need computer science available for every child, and its successes will serve as a model for other states. 

Last week we gave some stats on the state of girls in cs education in Virginia. Here are some simple things you can do to help and some important questions to ask:  Does your local school offer computer science classes? Having a strong computer science program in schools is the best way to be sure all kids have access.

• TechGirls - this great monthly newsletter has tons of resources to get girls working on technology. Have an elementary aged girl? 
• Download Scratch. This free program was designed to get all kids coding. Older kid? 
• Try AppInventor. Again, this is a free tool that lets you learn to code while creating Apps for Android devices.
• Made with Code - using code to be creative. Lots of inspirational stories, this site lets girls code a 3-D bracelet and lists local coding events. 
• Technovation - girls ages 10 - 23 participate in entrepreneurial challenges. 
• Project CS Girls - girls design projects around the themes Global Health, A Safer World, or Intelligent Technology. The point isn't to make coding girly, or to choose pink vs. blue tools. Our goal is to encourage all kids to code early and often, so that as they grow coding is as much a part of their toolkit as reading and math.

It’s one thing to talk about hypotheticals. But it’s another to take a look at our ground game. Nowhere is that game being played more vigorously than in Henrico County Public Schools. And yet, even with star players like Apple and Dell and a team that consists of every middle and high school student in the district, Team Henrico has barely moved in the points race.

A decade after more than 12,000 Henrico County high school students received their very own educational laptop computers specifically for the purpose of digital literacy, Henrico has just two computer science teachers. One of them is brand new in 2013. Prior to this year, in a district of more than 40,000 children, on average only about 30 of them ever took a computer programming class before their senior year in high school.

In the city of Richmond, where there is no student laptop initiative, the district offers no -- not a single one -- computer programming classes.

Just think of the thousands of great, high-paying jobs in STEM fields that Virginia students will be unqualified or under-qualified to fill because they lack basic computer programming skills.

More than 70 percent of all STEM field jobs are computer-programming jobs. Among the other 30 percent, nearly all require some knowledge of computer programming as a basic skill.