40 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 22, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
back to school
Increasing access to computer
science education for students
For today’s students, learning how to
code is becoming just as important as
learning how to read. Th e Bureau of Labor
Statistics says computer science is the fastest
growing profession within the science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM)
fi eld. Th ey also project that, by 2020, there
will be 1.4 million computer science-related
jobs available and only 400,000 computer
science graduates with the skills to apply
for those jobs.
Historically, access to computer science
education and skills training has been
absent in the curriculum for many underrepresented
and underserved communities,
despite research showing that exposure
to these subjects at a young age makes students
more likely to pursue computer science
in college. Th e new childhood-to-career
program, Amazon Future Engineer,
is working to change that with a four-step
process to ensure access for all students.
K-8:
First, the program has aft er-school computer
science workshops, coding camps
hosted at schools and various locations,
and online computer science courses like
Coding with Kids and Code.org’s Hour of
Code: Dance Party - all designed to encourage
students to explore computer science.
“Without Amazon Future Engineer
funding this coding camp, my son would
not have had such a wonderful opportunity
because I simply could not aff ord it,”
explained Kelly Garcia, whose son Pierce
attended a Coding with Kids camp in
Seattle, Washington.
High school:
Th e majority of public elementary and
high schools, particularly in low-income
communities, do not off er computer science
classes. Each year, Amazon Future
Engineer provides 2,000 schools across the
country (totaling about 100,000 students)
with Intro to Computer Science and AP
Computer Science classes through trusted
curriculum providers. All students participating
in this program also receive a free
membership to AWS Educate, which provides
them with free access to computing
power in the AWS Cloud for their coding
projects, and content to learn about cloud
computing.
Jennifer Tulipano, a teacher who is using
the course in her classroom at Monsignor
Scanlan High School in the Bronx says,
“It’s exciting to see the signifi cant increase
in my students’ creativity, logical thinking
skills and confi dence levels, since learning
to code, and there is no doubt in my mind
that we have paved the way for them to
head down very successful career paths in
the fi eld of computer science. I truly believe
our students, particularly our female students,
have been empowered by the computer
science courses.”
College:
As students head off to college, the program
off ers new resources to support continued
education in the fi eld. Th e program
provides 100 students from underrepresented
and underserved communities committed
to studying computer science in college
with a $40,000 college scholarship -
$10,000 per year. For many students, this
fi nancial aid is the catalyst that allows them
to pursue post-secondary education and
a career in computer science. “Th is scholarship
is very important because it means
when I go to college, I won’t have to constantly
worry about money,” said scholarship
recipient Leo Jean Baptiste, from
Orange High School in Orange, New Jersey.
Internship:
Amazon Future Engineer also off ers the
100 scholarship recipients a guaranteed,
paid summer internship aft er their fi rst
year of college. Interns partner closely with
a technical mentor and manager, as well as
their fellow interns, to innovate and create.
“I not only witnessed but was immersed
in what it’s like to be a soft ware development
engineer,” explained Nari Johnson, a
sophomore at Harvard University studying
computer science. “I left my internship feeling
more confi dent in my ability to transform
a vision for a service or product into
reality. As a woman in computer science,
Amazon’s commitment to diversity and
early computer science education has been
especially meaningful to me.”
Students, teachers, school administrators,
and parents can learn more and apply at
www.amazonfutureengineer.com.
Courtesy BPT
/Code.org
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