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Asheville City Schools Wins $80,000 App/Coding Development Grant
Asheville City Schools has 1:1 computers for all students in 5th - 12th Grade. However, few understand the mechanics that go on beyond its home screen.
This will soon change thanks to new class offerings like Project Lead the Way: Computer Science for Innovators and Makers as well as Project Lead the Way: App Creators.
“For students interested in new careers such as app building and game development, this is the logical pathway from middle to high school,” explained Asheville City Schools’ Career and Technical Education Director, Mr. Taylor Baldwin.
In conjunction with Buncombe and Madison County Schools, Asheville City is among 16 school districts across the state sharing $800,000 in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s second Coding and Mobile App Development Grant. In fact, it received $80,000.
The three-district cohort previously received a $40,000 grant that went to launching Asheville City Schools’ Project Lead the Way: Computer Science for Innovators and Makers middle school class. The unit allowed students to discover computer science concepts and skills by creating personally relevant, tangible and shareable projects. Blending hardware design and software development, middle schoolers even created their own apps as part of its curriculum.
This second round of grants will continue to support partnerships with local businesses to help schools develop computer science, coding and mobile app development programs for middle and high school students.
“This innovative program is providing North Carolina students the opportunity to learn...key skills in high demand in the 21st-century economy,” said North Carolina State Superintendent Mark Johnson. “The focus is on empowering students to create and contribute – not just use and consume – in the digital economy and to actively engage as informed citizens in our complex, technology-driven world.”
With its portion of the funding, Asheville City Schools will be implementing its new Project Lead The Way high school computer science programs during the 2018-19 school year.
PLTW Computer Essentials will provide emphasis on computational thinking and collaboration.
“This year-long course provides an excellent entry point for students to begin or continue the Project Lead The Way Computer Science K-12 experience,” explained Baldwin. “Computer Science Essentials will expose students to a diverse set of computational thinking concepts, fundamentals, and tools, allowing them to gain understanding and build confidence.”
Students will also have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement PLTW Computer Science Principles. The course will help students develop programming expertise and explore the workings of the internet. Its real-world investigation into projects and problems includes app development, visualization of data, cybersecurity and simulation.
These two courses, along with our middle school pathway, will allow Asheville City Schools to build a pipeline of students for the future careers of computer science.
Still, Asheville City Schools won’t be offering these courses simply because cell phones and smart devices are practically attached to our hips.
“Local industries are dying for students who graduate from high school already possessing programming experience,” explained Baldwin. By starting in middle school, “this is going to allow those students to do more internships with local companies as they get to high school.”
Currently, there are nearly 500,000 tech jobs in the United States. About 18,000 computing jobs are unfilled just here in North Carolina.
Therefore, Asheville City Schools, along with its community partners, is excited to provide opportunities for outreach and support as we help to prepare the next generation of IT Professional