Delta, Amazon, Wells Fargo Join Effort to Push for More US Computer Education
Letter signed by coalition led by Code.org urges governors to boost computer curriculum as industry jobs go wanting
Executives of Walmart Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Amazon.com Inc. are among more than 500 who have joined an effort by Code.org urging governors and state education officials to ensure that all US elementary and high school students have the chance study computer science as demand rises for workers in computer programming, cybersecurity and data science.
The letter is timed to coincide with a meeting this week of the National Governors Association where Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will ask his colleagues to bolster computer education for K-12 students across the nation. Hadi Partovi, chief executive officer of Code.org, said he’s hoping for commitments from all 50 states. Just 5% of US high school students now study computer science while the country has 700,000 vacant computer jobs, according to the organization, which was founded almost 10 years ago to boost access to computer science education, particularly for young women and members of underrepresented groups.