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Schools get $25,000 to start coding classes
School board
The Georgia Department of Education will provide $500,000 to help 17 school districts, including Liberty County’s, implement middle-school computer coding programs, State School Superintendent Richard Woods announced last week.
LCSS received $25,000 in Career Technical and Agricultural Education middle school computer coding program grants.
The funds, approved by the State Board of Education based on Woods’ recommendation, target middle schools in rural, underserved or high-poverty school clusters. Each grant includes funding for equipment, training, curriculum and teacher professional development.
“Georgia students need to graduate ready for 21st-century careers,” Woods said. “We can’t be complacent and rely on the way we’ve always done things, and we can’t wait until high school to start preparing our kids. Coding and computer science is a piece of that puzzle. This funding and these new courses for middle-school computer coding are part of the broader work we’re doing at the Department to expand opportunities for students in Georgia’s public schools.”
The grant is part of CS4GA, the Georgia Department of Education’s initiative focused on making Georgia a national leader in computer science by developing and delivering courses, resources and professional learning; increasing the number of CS endorsements held by educators; and expanding the integration of CS throughout the K-12 curriculum.
Every Georgia school district was eligible to apply for up to four grants. Recipients, whose applications met the requirements, were selected through a competitive award process.
Woods also announced all Georgia schools will have access to three new middle school computer science courses, which the state BoE has approved.
The course standards were developed based on public feedback, including opportunities for public comment and participation from educators, business and industry representatives, parents, and advocates.


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