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Computer Science Education Week kicks off at LAUSD

Craig Clough | December 9, 2014



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A kickoff event at North Hollywood High School highlighted LA Unified’s participation in Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code as students in the school’s Introduction to Data Science class listened to a number of guest speakers before demonstrating their coding skills.

LA Unified board member Tamar Galatzan spoke, as did Microsoft’s Sam Stokes, OMAZE.com’s David Lieberman and other district leaders. The event was also attended by representatives of city and state leaders, including LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and Congressman Tony Cardenas.

See the attached video for highlights of the event.

Hundreds of students around the district this week will be taking part in the Hour of Code, a worldwide event designed to get kids interested in how to build computer codes. The event is organized by Code.org, a nonprofit with the goal of expanding children’s participation in computer sciences and features dozens of corporate sponsors, including Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. Code.org also focuses on expanding computer science education for females and people of color.

Code.org, along with UCLA, is also partnering with LAUSD to provide computer curriculum to all the district’s students at no cost. The motion for the resolution authorizing the program was introduced to the school board by Galtazan. This year is the first of a three-year phase in of the program.

“I’m here today to kickoff the second annual Hour of Code. About 15 million students participated [last year] and they created about 15 million lines of computer code,” Galatzan told the students and visitors.

Around the district, students and Van Nuys High and Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies also participated in the Hour of Code.

At Van Nuys, teacher VJ Hirsch secured a $10,000 check from Code.org that will help every student participate in the Hour of Code, while 850 students at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies received a message via a television screen from President Obama about the importance of computer science, according to a district press release.

 

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