Statewide Iowa — (RI) — Six Iowa schools in “high-poverty” districts will each get $50-thousand state grants this summer for programs to boost the computer skills of elementary students.
The application period for these “Computer Science Is Elementary” grants opened Tuesday. Governor Kim Reynolds says the I-T professionals of tomorrow are sitting in classrooms across the state today, so it’s critical kids learn computer science in the early grades.
Gary Scholten is the executive vice president and chief digital and information officer for Prinicpal Financial. Scholten says there’s already a shortage of workers with I-T skills and it’s projected to get worse in the coming years.
Scholten was in charge of raising money from Iowa businesses to finance the six grants. A seventh grant, also worth $50-thousand, will be given to the Loess Hills Computer Programming School in Sioux City. Educators there will serve as consultants and the Loess Hills computer science curriculum will be used as a prototype for other schools. Governor Reynolds visited the Sioux City program a couple of years ago.
The six OTHER “Computer Science Is Elementary” grants will be awarded on a regional basis. Any Iowa school with at least 40-percent of its students qualified for the government’s free or reduced price lunch program is eligible to apply for the $50-thousand award.
