Canon-McMillan School District
is First in State to Adopt
Code to the Future Program
The program immerses the district's youngest students
in a comprehensive computer science curriculum.
F
rom healthcare to homeland security, finance to
entertainment, computer science now lies at the root of
virtually everything we do as a society. Not surprisingly,
people who are fluent in coding enjoy widespread advantages
in the job market, and a significant socioeconomic advantage, as
well.
As part of its mission to provide an education that prepares
all of its students to fully participate and lead in tomorrow’s
economy, the Canon-McMillan School District recently
announced that it has become the first school district in
Pennsylvania, Ohio, or West Virginia to adopt Code to the Future, a
comprehensive computer science immersion program.
With leaders from the Pennsylvania Department of Education
and parents in tow, students in kindergarten through fourth
grade recently demonstrated their “Epic Builds”—coding projects
they’ve been working on since the start of the school year.
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“Coding is no longer a niche subject for a select few students.
In many ways, it’s an essential language whose use is becoming
a necessity across all aspects of our society,” Canon-McMillan
Superintendent Michael Daniels said.
He added:
“We know that children as young as kindergartners can learn
coding and how to apply it to a variety of subjects. Better yet,
when they learn computer science at a young age and how to
apply it to a variety of tasks, their literacy and confidence soars. ”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020, there
will be 1.4 million new computer science jobs, but only 400,000
computer science students. Computer science jobs are growing
at a pace that is twice the national average for job growth.
Every day, all students in three of Canon-McMillan’s
elementary schools learn coding as an integral part of their
school curriculum.