By Lana Sweeten-Shults
GCU News Bureau
Grand Canyon University and Science Foundation Arizona are talking code and will spread their love of computer science with Code.org training expected to benefit more than 300 educators and thousands of students.
That educational mantra is getting a boost, thanks to Verizon. The company donated $100,000 to the partnership program, which, this year, runs from July through spring 2018. The check was presented Sept. 20 at the Arizona Governor’s Office in the Arizona State Capitol to GCU and Science Foundation Arizona, who are Code.org Arizona Regional Training Partners.
The contribution will help provide no-cost curriculum training to the teachers participating in Code.org Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles, Computer Science Discoveries and Computer Science Fundamentals programs.
In 2017, the regional partnership trained 457 kindergarten to sixth-grade teachers, 38 middle-school teachers and 50 high-school teachers, “and we’re just getting started,” said Kathryn Scott, GCU Executive Director of Educational Development and Support in Strategic Educational Alliances. She added, “We share Code.org’s mission of computer science being taught in every classroom to every student, especially girls and underrepresented groups. GCU and Science Foundation Arizona are working to build computer science pathways from grades kindergarten through 12 into higher education and the global economy.”
According to Code.org, only one in four schools in Arizona offers a computer science curriculum, despite the lack of trained employees in this growth industry. Through its Verizon Innovative Learning Initiative, Verizon is investing $160 million overall in free technology, free access and hands-on immersive learning in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for students in need. The company also launched #weneedmore to create greater awareness of the call for more STEM training to fulfill the more than 4 million jobs available now in the United States in science and tech.
Contact Lana Sweeten-Shults at (602) 639-7901 or [email protected].
